Metabolomics-detected alterations generated by phytosomal propolis and phytosomal Lycopene in male rats with induced benign prostatic hyperplasia

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common chronic benign increase in the size of the prostate gland, in which the incidence rate elevates gradually with age. Despite the abundance of research regarding BPH, the treatment is still a significant challenge. The present study was conducted to estimate the blood metabolomics changes generated by the effects of phytosomal propolis (PP) and phytosomal Lycopene (PL) in male rats with induced BPH. For this purpose, BPH was induced in 25 adult male rats by the administration of testosterone propionate (T) and estradiol valerate (E2) at 200µg/100g and 40µg/100g, respectively, three subcutaneously (S/C) injections each per week for four weeks. Besides, 14 rats were only exposed to the solvent S/C, sterile corn oil (SCO), per the above criteria. The rats with no BPH were assigned into the following control groups; B: The negative control that received BPS (B) at 2ml/200g B.W. and Ls-1: The rat group that received liposome (Ls) at 2mg/Kg B.W. The males with BPH were divided into the following groups: 0: The positive control that received nothing (0), Ls-2: The treatment group that received Ls at 2mg/kg B.W., PP: The treatment group that received PP at 2mg/kg B.W., PL: The treatment group that received PL at 2mg/kg B.W., and PPPL: The treatment group that received a combination of PP and PL at 2mg/kg B.W. All treatments were applied orally by gavage once daily for four weeks. After the experiment, blood samples were collected from the hearts subjected to blood plasma separation. Then, plasma metabolites were extracted, which was followed by GC-Mass analysis. A wide range of changes were seen in treated groups at the level of different metabolites. For plasma components, such as L-alanine, Lauric acid, linoleic acid, L-lysine, L-proline, myristic acid, pyruvic acid, and succinic acid, significant (P<0.05) increases were recorded in the phytosomal treated groups. Alterations in the blood metabolites are recorded, and there are substantial increases in some fatty acids' levels, probably due to shifts in specific pathways belonging to eukaryotic or microbiota systems. These alterations may help to reduce the impact of BPH.