Benign prostatic hyperplasia, also simply called "enlarged prostate" is an extremely common condition that afflicts a large percentage of older men and only gets more common with age. While benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is not prostate cancer and cannot spread to other parts of the body like cancer can, it is still potentially dangerous.
The prostate is situated just below the bladder and surrounds the beginning of the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body). Because it occupies this important location, when the prostate enlarges, it can block the flow of urine from the bladder.
For most men, this results in symptoms like dribbling, urgency, or hesitancy when urinating. These symptoms are usually just nuisances early on. BPH can become dangerous, however, when the bladder is completely (or nearly completely) blocked. If urine is impeded from exiting the body, pressure will build up behind the bladder and then will transfer to the kidneys. Severe kidney damage can then result.
Ultimately, if kidney damage is severe enough, the man could die from the condition.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia can be more than an annoyance. Recent research shows that as many as one in four men admitted to a hospital with acute urinary retention, which is a sudden inability to pass urine and is a common complication of advanced BPH, will die within a year.
Conventional medicine used in the treatment of BPH symptoms either shrink or reduce the prostate gland by blocking the actions of testosterone or help to relax the muscle of the prostate and bladder to relieve pressure and improve urine flow.
Scientists looking into herbal alternatives for BPH symptoms have indicated numerous herbs such as pumpkin seed oil and soy as helpful for this ailment.
Extracts of pumpkin seed oil, taken alone or combined with other herbs, can reduce BPH symptoms and shrink prostate tissues. Pumpkin contains a cholesterol-like substance called beta-sisterol, which seems to inhibit prostate enlargement. This is also present in soy.
Certainly, many men might want other alternatives to pumpkin seed oil. Just as this oil can be taken, experts have indicated that the inclusion of pumpkin seeds in men’s diet would also serve the purpose of managing benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Fluted pumpkin, what is commonly referred to as Ugu (Aporoko in Yoruba) is a tropical vine grown in West Africa as a leaf vegetable and for its edible seeds. The plant’s young shoots and leaves are the main ingredients of a Nigerian soup, edikang ikong. In addition, its dark-red seed is rich in fat and protein and can be eaten whole, ground into powder for another kind of soup, or made into a fermented porridge.
The fermented seeds of fluted pumpkin are used in the production of "Ogiri ugu", locally made custard. The seeds of fluted pumpkin could also be used in cookie formulations and marmalade manufacturing.
The seed is also a good source of edible oil.
In an evaluation of the usefulness of diet-containing pumpkin seeds in managing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) under laboratory conditions, researchers found that intake of a diet rich in pumpkin seeds can cause a reduction in the prostate.
For the study, 20 male Wistar rats were divided into four equal groups. Rats in the test group were placed on the pumpkin seed diet for seven days following disease induction while the control group were fed a normal diet for seven days following disease induction. BPH and hormone profile were determined using standard methods.
This was carried out by Chukwunonso C. Ejike and Lawrence Ezeanyika and published in the latest edition of the African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines. It was entitled, "Management of Experimental Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats using a food-based therapy containing Telfairia occidentalis seeds".
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, herbal preparations of the pumpkin leaves have been employed in the treatment of sudden attack of convulsion, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, malaria, high blood pressure, arthritis, liver problems and inflammatory conditions as well as anaemia.
For instance, there are studies corroborating that extract from pumpkin leaf was capable of correcting impaired glucose tolerance, thereby significantly reducing the possibility of developing full blown diabetes.
In addition, a 2009 study that investigated the usefulness of pumpkin seeds and leaf extracts found it a veritable natural resource worth exploiting in the control of malaria. This was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.
Great efforts have been put into reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases through the regulation of blood cholesterol level. Surprisingly, regular intake of edikang ikong and bitter leaf soups lowered blood cholesterol level. More importantly, soups like edikang ikong induced a higher effect at lowering blood cholesterol than even bitter leaf soup.
The researchers writing in the 2011 edition of the journal, African Journal of Biochemistry Research, stated: "The results from the study showed that the pumpkin diet preparation had more anti-lipidaemic property than the bitter leave diet preparation. These leaves could be beneficial to people at high risk of cardiovascular disease."
The study entitled "Comparative effects of the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina and Telfairia occidentalis incorporated diets on the lipid profile of rats" was carried out by C. E. Ugwu and J. E. Olajide from the Kogi State University, Anyigba in collaboration with E. O. Alumana and L. U. S. Ezeanyika from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
In addition, the use of pumpkin leaves in reproduction and fertility in traditional medicine is gradually becoming a thing of interest in medical science. Experts indicated that extract of pumpkin leaves has the potential to regenerate testicular damage as well as increase sperm production. This study carried out by Nwangwa E.K; J Modi: O.A Ebeye and Ojieh entitled "Testicular regenerative effects induced by the extracts of Telfairia occidentalis in rats" was published in the journal, Series Biology.
The symptoms of protein energy malnutrition such as Kwashiokor and marasmus were rarely observed among dwellers in region where adequate amount of protein is obtained from fruits, seeds and leaves of plants rich in protein such as Ugu.
