Abstract
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common urological disease affecting aging men. Its pathogenesis is regarded as complex and multifactorial, with sex hormones and inflammation as key contributory factors. In the current study, we investigated the anti-BPH potential of terpenoids present in the fruits of Sorbus intermedia (EHRH.) PERS. Not only the effects on testosterone-stimulated normal prostate epithelial PNT2 cells, namely suppression of 5-α-reductase activity, PSA secretion, and cell proliferation, were determined but also the inhibitory activity on heat-induced protein denaturation, hyaluronidase, as well as IL-6, TNF-α, and NO release in LPS-treated macrophages. Sorbus terpenoids significantly inhibited 5-α-reductase activity and reduced PSA secretion in PNT2 cells, reversing the stimulatory effect of testosterone. PNT2 cell proliferation was also found to be attenuated. Subsequently, all compounds reduced the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, ursolic acid (UA) and its aldehyde (UAL) were the most potent hyaluronidase inhibitors of all compounds, with IC(50) values of 225.75 µg/mL and 369.77 µg/mL, respectively. For better understanding and interpretation of the overall effect of Sorbus terpenoids on different aspects of BPH pathogenesis and development, cluster analysis was applied.