Anti-inflammatory Effect of Lycopene on Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis Rat Model

Purpose: Chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) is the most common urological disease in adult males, with antibiotic therapy being the gold standard for its treatment. However, long-term therapy results in many side effects as well as bacterial resistance. For these reasons, there is a need for a new treatment modality to replace traditional antibiotic therapy. Lycopene, an extract of tomatoes, has antioxidant effects against various bacteria and synergistic effects with antibiotics. We evaluate the synergistic effects of lycopene on the treatment of CBP in an animal model. Materials and Methods: Forty five rats demonstrating CBP were randomly divided into 4 groups; the control, lycopene, ciprofloxacin and lycopene with ciprofloxacin groups. All drug treatments were conducted over a period of 2 weeks. After treatment, the results were analyzed, with the microbiological cultures and histological findings of the prostate and urine samples compared with the control group and between each group. Results: The uses of ciprofloxacin, and lycopene with ciprofloxacin showed statistically significant decreases in bacterial growth and improvements in prostatic inflammation compared with the control group (p< 0.05). The lycopene with ciprofloxacin group showed a statistically significant decrease in bacterial growth and improvements in prostatic inflammation compared with the ciprofloxacin group (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that lycopene may be an effective material in the treatment of CBP. Especially, the combination treatment of lycopene and ciprofloxacin has synergistic effects. Therefore, it is suggest that the combination of lycopene and ciprofloxacin may be effective in the treatment of CBP, and with a higher success rate. (Korean J Urol 2006;47:1348-1353) ꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏ