Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigated the effect and mechanism of Fangjihuangqi Tang (FHT) on lower urinary tract dysfunction induced by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats. METHODS: Male rats were randomly divided into seven groups: normal, model, finasteride (0.5 mg/ kg), terazosin (0.5 mg/kg), and FHT (10, 5, 2.5 g/kg). Rats were administered testosterone (0.5 mg sc) for 6 weeks after orchiectomy, excluding the normal group. All rats were intragastrically administered assigned drugs for 4 weeks from the third week. Urodynamics were assessed in rats under anesthesia. Serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) were measured. The prostate index (PI), bladder index (BI), and pathological detection were evaluated. RESULTS: In the model group, the PI, BI, serum DHT, serum PAP, threshold pressure (TP), micturition pressure (MP), and residual urine volume (RV)were significantly higher. Moreover, inter-micturition duration (IMD) was significantly lower and the prostatic and bladder showed obvious pathological changes. The IMD was significantly higher, while BI, TP, MP, and RV were significantly lower and bladder pathological changes were alleviated in the FHT (10, 5 g/kg), finasteride, and terazosin groups. The PI, DHT, and PAP were significantly lower in the finasteride group, but they did not change significantly in the FHT (10, 5, 2.5 g/kg) and terazosin groups. CONCLUSION: FHT could relieve symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction in BPH rats but with no apparent effect on reducing the volume of the enlarged prostate itself.

Key words: Prostatic hyperplasia, Lower urinary tract symptoms, Medicine, Chinese traditional, FangjihuangqiTang