Impact of oral capsule of Peganum harmala on alleviating urinary symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia; a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is considered as a major cause of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older men and its most common sign is nocturia. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of the seeds of Peganum harmala compared with tamsulosin on alleviating urinary symptoms in patients with BPH. Patients and Methods: In this single blind clinical trial study, 90 patients diagnosed with BPH and LUTS, based on international prostate standard survey (IPSS) were divided into three groups. The first group was received oral capsule of P. harmala, the second group was administered tamsulosin with oral P. harmala seed and the third group was received tamsulosin drug and they were evaluated after 4 weeks. Results: The results showed that the difference between mean scores of IPSS was significant after the intervention (P = 0.001). Besides, the mean of IPSS in the three groups was significantly different (P = 0.001) (the first group 41.9 ± 5.3, the second group 21.0 ± 4.4 ,the third group 16.5 ± 3.7 respectively). However, after the intervention, patients in the second group had the lowest average on most indicators of IPSS but the difference was only significant about urinary frequency, nocturia and intermittency(P < 0.05). Conclusion: Application of Peganum harmala seed can be useful in reducing urinary symptoms in patients with BPH.