Brazilian Berry Extract Chemopreventive Action: Hormone Receptors as a Target to Mitigate Aging Prostatic Disorders.

The Brazilian berry, also known as jaboticaba, has a great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, besides demonstrating positive effects on hormonal regulation and weight loss. Nowadays, both aging and overweight are considered public health issues, promoting metabolic and hormonal changes that have a substantial role in prostate injury. We demonstrated herein that a low dose of jaboticaba peel extract (PJE) is enough to limit the onset of damages and hormone receptor alterations on the anterior prostate in the senile or high-fat diet (HFD) groups. The senile mice (11-months old) received the PJE and/or a HFD for 60 days. The anterior prostates were collected for histopathological, immunohistochemistry and western -blotting analysis. The PJE treatment reduced the epithelium atrophy and inflammatory infiltrate frequencies besides decreasing the androgen receptor (AR); estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha); and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGFR-1) immunoexpression; in the anterior prostate of both senile and HFD-senile mice. However, low prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) frequency, reduced immunoexpression of stromal AR and epithelium IGFR-1 were only observed in the anterior prostate of the PJE and HFD-treated groups. HFD intake intensified the aging-induced histopathological and hormonal alterations by further increasing the AR, ER alpha and IGFR-1 immunoexpression, as well as the PIN lesion incidence in the anterior prostate. Thus, the PJE was able to interfere in the hormonal signaling mediators, protecting the anterior prostate microenvironment and preventing lesion development due to aging associated or not with HFD intake.

Automated summary

The Brazilian berry, also known as jaboticaba, has been found to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as positive effects on hormonal regulation and weight loss. This study shows that a low dose of jaboticaba peel extract can limit damages to the anterior prostate and prevent hormone receptor alterations associated with aging or high-fat diet. The extract reduces atrophy and inflammatory infiltrate frequencies, decreases the expression of androgen receptor, estrogen receptor alpha, and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, and lowers the incidence of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Overall, jaboticaba extract protects the anterior prostate microenvironment and prevents lesion development.