Objectives: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. So, this work aims to study the effect of avocado seeds aqueous extract in the protection and treatment of the histopathological changes that happened in experimentally induced prostate cancer rat model.
Material and Methods: Eighty (80) adult male albino rats of Wistar strain were divided randomly into 5 groups: Group I: Control group (n= 10) and was subdivided into subgroups IA and IB. Group II: Aqueous extract of avocado seeds (n = 10): received aqueous extract of avocado seeds (500 mg/kg/day orally) for 10 weeks. Group III: Prostate cancer group (n = 20). Group IV: Protected group (n = 20): received aqueous extract of avocado seeds (500 mg/kg/day orally) for 10 weeks then prostate cancer was induced. Group V: Treated group (n = 20): Prostate cancer was induced first and rats with prostatic specific antigen (PSA) more than 20 ng/ml were selected and received aqueous extract of avocado seeds (500 mg/kg/day orally) for further 10 weeks. Then the ventral prostate lobes were subjected to biochemical, histopathological, immunohistochemical, morphometric, and statistical analysis.
Results: Avocado seeds aqueous extract significantly protected against the prostate cancer as the protected group showed marked histological improvements and significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the PSA, Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α), and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels when compared to prostate cancer group, but it had no effect in treating the prostate cancer.
Conclusion: Avocado seeds aqueous extract plays an impressive important role as a chemo preventive agent, but it is useless in treating the prostate cancer.