Daily supplementation with 1.5 g Korean red ginseng (6-y-old ginseng, steamed, dried, and powdered) over 12 wk resulted in no significant between-group differences in testosterone concentrations. Only 1 study demonstrated positive effects of Asian ginseng supplementation on testosterone (47), while 6 studies showed no effect of supplementation (Table 1). Overall, 9 out of 32 studies demonstrated statistically significant increases in testosterone concentrations. In this systematic review, many studies were underpowered, making it difficult to obtain statistically significant, between-group differences. Similarly, in vitro studies demonstrated reishi's ability to inhibit the activity of 5α-reductase (79, 86, 87). The remaining studies (25/32) were judged as having some concerns for their risk of bias due to potential biases arising from the randomization process (domain 1) (35–49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 62, 64–66), with Gaffney et al. (38) also being judged as having some concerns for its risk of bias due to missing outcome data (domain 3). Six studies (50, 52, 55, 56, 61, 63) out of 32 were judged to have a low risk of bias due to their strong methodological designs. The risk-of-bias assessment (Supplemental Tables 1 and 2) revealed some concerns for most of the included studies. Effects of β-cyclodextrin–curcumin on the mRNA expression levels of Nr5a1 and steroidogenic enzymes in Leydig cells. 3, cells exposed to hCG and CDC (1 μM or 5 μM) demonstrated significantly higher expression levels of Nr5a1 and steroidogenic enzymes compared to controls (P P Nr5a1 gene and activating the expression of steroidogenic enzyme genes. The above results suggested that the CDC might regulate the expression levels of steroidogenic enzyme genes to promote testosterone secretion in Leydig cells. Primary Leydig cells were treated with the CDC to determine their effect on cell proliferation, testosterone levels, the protein and mRNA expression of the transcription factor, and steroidogenic enzymes. And curcumin treatment decreased expressions VEGF, TGF-ß1, and IGF1 among growth factors in prostate tissue. Moreover, curcumin showed decreased expression of VEGF, TGF-ß1, and IGF1 when compared to testosterone induced BPH group. In order to examine the effects of the administration of curcumin on expression of growth factors in prostate tissue, IHC and western-blot were performed. Tuntipopipat, S., Zeder, C., Siriprapa, P., and Charoenkiatkul, S. Inhibitory effects of spices and herbs on iron availability. Jiao, Y., Wilkinson, J., Christine, Pietsch E., Buss, J. L., Wang, W., Planalp, R., Torti, F. M., and Torti, S. V. Iron chelation in the biological activity of curcumin. Efficacy and safety of Meriva, a curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex, during extended administration in osteoarthritis patients. Huang, C. Y., Chen, J. H., Tsai, C. H., Kuo, W. W., Liu, J. Y., and Chang, Y. C. Regulation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase signaling in human osteosarcoma cells stimulated with nicotine. Ramaswami, G., Chai, H., Yao, Q., Lin, P. H., Lumsden, A. B., and Chen, C. Curcumin blocks homocysteine-induced endothelial dysfunction in porcine coronary arteries. And Ross, G. A. Modification of radiation-induced acute oral mucositis in the rat. And Chandrasekhara, N. Effect on curcumin on cholesterol gall-stone induction in mice. Manzan, A. C., Toniolo, F. S., Bredow, E., and Povh, N. P. Extraction of essential oil and pigments from Curcuma longa L by steam distillation and extraction with volatile solvents. All studies used berry or root extracts of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), with the root reported as Korean red ginseng, a processed form (67). Study durations were from 2 h up to 6 mo, with 2 studies having durations of 2 h and 10 h, respectively, and the remaining studies having durations from 4 wk to 6 mo. FT or BT (the combination of FT and albumin-bound, "weakly-bound" testosterone) have been suggested as more effective measures for diagnosing AD, particularly as men age (32). And Menon, V. P. Modulatory effects of curcumin on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status during nicotine-induced toxicity. Eybl, V., Kotyzova, D., and Bludovska, M. The effect of curcumin on cadmium-induced oxidative damage and trace elements level in the liver of rats and mice. Nguyen, K. T., Shaikh, N., Shukla, K. P., Su, S. H., Eberhart, R. C., and Tang, L. Molecular responses of vascular smooth muscle cells and phagocytes to curcumin-eluting bioresorbable stent materials. Soni, K. B., Rajan, A., and Kuttan, R. Reversal of aflatoxin induced liver damage by turmeric and curcumin.
