Functions:
The indicated root is in the symptomatic treatment of micturition disorders such as nocturia, pollakisuria, dysuria and urine retention and in benign prostatic hyperplasia. It was diuretic, aphrodisiac, tonic to the lungs, and itch removing. In a clinical trial, men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (Stages I and II) were treated with a dried standardised Urtica root extract for 20 weeks. A morphologically relevant effect on the prostate adenoma cells was found that may be due to competitive inhibition by the extract of the binding capacity of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). An increased binding capacity of SHBG to testosterone and dihydrotestosterone results in hyperplasia as a compensation for a decrease in hormones. Other clinical trials have reported improvements in urinary flow, and reduced urinary frequency, nocturia and residual urine after six months treatment.