Research Progress on the Mechanism of Chinese Herbal Compounds Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia by Regulating Inflammatory Response

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common benign diseases in middle-aged and elderly men. Its main clinical manifestations are frequent urination, urgent urination, weak urine flow, other lower urinary tract symptoms, serious urinary retention, and urinary incontinence. Chinese herbal compounds are widely used in the clinical treatment of BPH with good efficacy and safety, reflecting the advantages of multi-target and multi-approach traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment. There is usually a high level of inflammation in the affected area of BPH, and its persistence affects the whole body, causing multiple complications and accelerating the development of the disease. Inflammation can directly stimulate the proliferation of prostate cells and drive other pathological mechanisms to jointly promote the development of diseases, such as participating in oxidative stress, driving growth factor synthesis, destroying the imbalance between apoptosis and proliferation, and promoting fibrosis. To more fully elucidate the mechanism of action of Chinese herbal compounds in the treatment of BPH, this paper reviews the literature in recent years, beginning with basic research on the intervention of Chinese herbal compounds in BPH inflammation, to provide further ideas for relevant research on the prevention and treatment of BPH inflammation by TCM.