Letter to the Editor regarding the Article: “Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Effects of a Novel Herbal Formulation (WSY-1075) in a Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis Rat Model” by Park et al. World J Mens Health 2016;34(3):179-185

The article by Park et al [1] is indeed interesting. This article is one of the rare reports about anti-inflammatory effect of herbal medicine in a chronic bacterial prostatitis. The results of their study indicate that the herbal formula WSY-1075, which was prepared from a mixture of Corni fructus, Angelica gigantis radix, Lycii fructus, Cervi parvum cornu, Ginseng radix rubra, and Cassiae cortkex, had anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects in a chronic bacterial prostatitis rat model [1]. We agree that WSY-1075 may be useful for the clinical treatment of all kinds of chronic prostatic diseases with mechanisms involving oxidative effects in the near future. Because antibiotics and other drugs cannot fully enter the prostate tissues, which limits the efficacy of treatment.

In addition, many studies have shown the negative effect of chronic bacterial prostatitis on basic semen parameters by decreasing sperm total motility, the percentage of progressively motile sperm and delaying the duration of semen liquefaction [2]. When the male genitourinary tract is infected, oxidative stress and inflammatory factors may change the seminal plasma environment, which leads to the impairment of sperm motility. Sperm damage occurs when oxidative stress overcomes natural antioxidant defenses [3]. Oxidative stress is a crucial regulator of endoplasmic reticulum function and activation of the unfolded protein response in disease conditions, increased oxidative stress production occur concurrently. Oral antioxidant supplements may improve sperm quality by reducing oxidative stress [4, 5]. In our opinion, the WSY-1075 decreased these detriments, and so may be potentially valuable in chronic bacterial prostatitis relating infertility. We expect further studies to evaluate the effect of herbal mixture, such as WSY-1075 in infertility by chronic prostatic diseases in the near future.