In clinical practice, plant extracts are an option to treat mild-to-moderate lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostate hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). However, only a few herbal extracts have been investigated in long-term placebo-controlled studies. The safety and efficacy of a well-tolerated proprietary pumpkin seed soft extract (PSE) were investigated in two randomized placebo
Pumpkin seed has long been used to treat micturition disorders and has found a place in the medical treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH/LUTS) over the past decades [ 1, 2, 3 ]. The improvement of LUTS in men with BPH was confirmed in clinical practice [ 4, 5 ]. Authors conclude that the cell growth inhibition for fast growing cells together with the cell growth inhibition of prostate-, breast- and colon cancer cells corroborates the ethnomedical use of pumpkin seeds as a treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia and potential adjunct for treatment of prostate cancer."