Saikosaponin D alleviates chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome by regulating the NF-κB pathway via lncRNA5682.
Wang X, Zang Z, Zhou Y, Liu Z, Zhang H
Medicinal Plants
Chinese thoroughwax (Bupleurum) has been brewed into medicinal teas across East Asia for centuries, and this study gives modern molecular evidence for why traditional herbalists reached for it first when treating chronic pain and inflammation.
Researchers tested a natural compound from the roots of a traditional Chinese herb called Bupleurum — long used in East Asian herbal medicine — on mice with chronic prostate inflammation. The compound worked surprisingly well: it lowered pain sensitivity, lifted mood-related behaviors, and calmed inflammation in the prostate tissue. It did this by quieting a specific 'alarm signal' inside immune cells that normally keeps the inflammatory fire burning.
Key Findings
Saikosaponin D significantly increased pelvic pain thresholds and reduced depressive-like behavior in mice with experimentally induced chronic prostatitis
The compound suppressed aberrantly elevated lncRNA5682 expression, which in turn blocked NF-κB inflammatory signaling — a mechanistic pathway identified through full transcriptomic (RNA sequencing) analysis
SSD promoted a shift from proinflammatory monocytes/macrophages toward anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage polarization, demonstrating an immunomodulatory effect beyond simple pain relief
chevron_right Technical Summary
A compound called saikosaponin D, extracted from the roots of Chinese thoroughwax (Bupleurum), significantly reduced pain, inflammation, and depression-like symptoms in mice with chronic prostatitis by blocking a specific inflammatory signaling pathway.
Abstract Preview
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a common urological disorder characterised by persistent pelvic pain and chronic inflammation that can trigger depressive symptoms and ...
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Bupleurum is a large genus of annual or perennial herbs or woody shrubs, with about 190 species, belonging to the family Apiaceae. The full size of its species may vary between a few cm to up to 3 m high. Their compound umbels of small flowers are adorned with bracteoles that are sometimes large ...