Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and half of men over age 60 suffer from an enlarged prostate, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Diet may play an important role in both the cause and treatment of prostate conditions. The herb tulsi is one of many alternative therapies prostate patients can try, and although not a cure for cancer, it may be helpful in assisting healing and overall prostate health. Check with your doctor first before taking tulsi, especially if you're suffering from prostate cancer.
Tulsi
Tulsi is also commonly known as holy basil and also by its scientific name, Ocimum tenuiflorum or Ocimum sanctum. It's been used for centuries in traditional Hindu medicine to treat colds, headaches, stomach complaints, inflammation, heart disease, poisoning and malaria. Today, the herb is used as food, insect repellent and in cosmetics. The leaves, which have a taste similar to cloves, contain traces of vitamins A and C and minerals including zinc, manganese and sodium. The plant has high levels of tannins, flavonoids and essential oils, all antioxidants that help prevent free radical damage to cells and DNA.
Prostate Anatomy and Conditions
The prostate gland plays an important role in male reproduction, by helping to make sperm-containing seminal fluid, and is ordinarily the size of a walnut. As men age, the prostate can grow larger and cause problems including infections like prostatitis; a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, which causes dribbling after urination or a need to go frequently, especially at night; and prostate cancer.
Reproductive Health
Although not yet tested on humans, tulsi may reduce sperm count and reproductive hormones. A study on rabbits, published in 2010 in the "International Journal of Ayurveda Research," found that fresh tulsi leaves caused a reduction in sperm count and motility as well as decreased the weight of testes, epididymis, seminal vesicle and ventral prostate after long-term feeding of the leaves. The researchers concluded that their results suggested tulsi could be an effective herbal male contraceptive.
Prostate Cancer
Scientists at the Beckman Research Institute in Duarte, California, used a combination of an extract from tulsi called vicenin-2 and docetaxel, a well-established chemotherapy drug, as a prostate cancer treatment in mice. The results, published in November 2011 in "Biochemical Pharmacology," showed the tulsi extract, alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drug, inhibited the growth of prostate tumors. The combination of the two was more effective than either of the single agents in treating androgen-independent prostate cancer. Tulsi is also part of the multi-herbal drug Zyflamend. Research at the Columbia University Department of Urology, published in 2005 in "Nutrition and Cancer," found Zyflamend suppressed the growth of prostate cancer cells and induced prostate cancer cell death. However, more studies are needed before tulsi can be recommended as a treatment for prostate cancer.
Prostatitis
Prostatitis is either a bacterial infection of the prostate or inflammation with no sign of infection. Unlike cancer and BHP, prostatitis can occur in younger men. A trial of tulsi on healthy volunteers in India found tulsi showed promise as an immunomodulator, meaning it was able to boost the immune system response by stimulating antibodies and reducing white blood cell activity. The results, published in July 2011 in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology," showed the effects were observed after four weeks in the group given tulsi versus a control. Although tulsi was used on healthy subjects, its ability to strengthen immunity could make it helpful in conditions like prostatitis, although clearly more research is needed.
Cautions
As of January 2012, there had been few clinical trials testing tulsi's effects on human subjects. Since it's not known what the effects of tulsi are over the long term, don't use the herb for more than four weeks. Tulsi may increase your risk for bleeding, so check with your doctor before taking tulsi if you're also on a blood thinner like wafarin, Plavix or aspirin, and avoid taking tulsi within two weeks of surgery. Tulsi contains a compound called eugenol, which caused liver damage in mice lacking glutathione, an antioxidant found in all cells.
References
- Drugs.com: Holy Basil
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: What is Your Prostate?
- International Journal of Ayurveda Reseach: Effect of Tulsi on Sperm Count and Reproductive Hormones in Male Albino Rabbits
- Biochemical Pharmacology: Anti-cancer Effects of Novel Flavonoid Vicenin-2 as a Single Agent and in Synergistic Combination with Docetaxel in Prostate Cancer
- Nutrition and Cancer: Zyflamend, a Unique Herbal Preparation with Nonselective COX Inhibitory Activity, Induces Apoptosis of Prostate Cancer Cells that Lack COX-2 Expression
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology: Double-blinded Randomized Controlled Trial for Immunomodulatory Effects of Tulsi Leaf Extract on Healthy Volunteers
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