PCE-PRO™ | Purple Corn Extract

Product Overview

Sourced from a purpose-bred, officially registered Korean corn variety, PCE-PRO™ delivers clinically studied support for prostate health and eye health, with a complete nonclinical safety program behind it.

PCE-PRO™ is Sunbio Corporation’s flagship ingredient: a standardized purple corn anthocyanin extract with a completed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial in each of two indications, prostate health and eye health.

PCE-PRO is derived primarily from the husks and cobs of Zea mays L., a non-GMO purple corn variety bred and cultivated in Korea’s Gangwon Province. The corn is grown specifically for the extract. Its deep purple color reflects a high concentration of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), the anthocyanin used as the standardization marker.

Manufactured at a KGMP-certified, US FDA-registered facility, PCE-PRO is standardized to ≥12 mg/g C3G and ≥13% total anthocyanins (w/w) per batch. Korean functional food approval for eye health was received in May 2026.

Prostate Health

PCE-PRO is clinically studied for men’s prostate health. In a completed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial (80 men), it showed statistically significant improvement over placebo on all three primary endpoints (IPSS total score, quality of life, and IPSS + QoL combined) and two key secondary endpoints (serum testosterone and post-void residual urine).

Eye Health

PCE-PRO is also clinically studied for dry eye symptoms. In a completed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial (90 participants), it showed statistically significant improvement over placebo in OSDI symptom score, tear film stability (TBUT) and corneal fluorescein staining. Separate preclinical (animal) studies have examined eye strain and dry AMD models.

Learn more

Black corn ears and kernels with dark husks.

Graph and data showing anthocyanin content in various foods, highlighting purple carrot and PCE.

Why PCE-PRO Stands Apart

Most eye health and prostate health ingredients target a single mechanism. PCE-PRO works across multiple pathways simultaneously—making it uniquely effective and differentiated in both categories.

C3G standardization: Every batch is standardized to ≥12 mg/g C3G and ≥13% total anthocyanins (w/w), with a Certificate of Analysis. Raw purple corn (husk and cob), as a botanical category, has been reported at up to 18,500 mg/kg total anthocyanins. That figure describes the raw plant, not the PCE-PRO specification.

Purpose-grown source: PCE-PRO is extracted primarily from the husk and cob of purple corn, which contain roughly 10 times more anthocyanins than the kernels used in kernel-derived extracts. It comes from a purpose-bred, officially registered non-GMO variety cultivated separately for the extract.

Dual Indications, one ingredient: PCE-PRO has completed human clinical trials in both prostate health and eye health, so formulators can address two large markets with a single, well-characterized ingredient.

Multiple pathways (preclinical): Cell and animal studies show activity across several pathways, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant signaling. Prostate models also show 5-alpha-reductase type 2 inhibition.

Supply chain ready: KGMP-certified, ISO 22000-certified, US FDA-registered facility in South Korea. CoA per batch. Available exclusively in the US through Sunbio Corporation.

Human Clinical Study Results — Prostate Health

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week trial, 500 mg/day. 80 men with BPH symptoms were randomized (40 per arm), and 67 completed per protocol (32 PCE, 35 placebo). Between-group p-values are shown first, with ANCOVA (adjusted for baseline voided volume) in parentheses.

Primary endpoints (all significant vs. placebo):

IPSS total score: p=0.0221 (ANCOVA 0.0261)
Quality of life: p=0.0475 (0.0360)
IPSS + QoL combined: p=0.0132 (0.0141)

Key secondary endpoints (significant):

Serum testosterone: p=0.0139 (0.0183)
Post-void residual urine: p=0.0177 (0.0201)

Also significant: the IIEF sexual pleasure item (p=0.0470; ANCOVA 0.0419) and the IPSS storage subdomain (p=0.0300; exploratory).

Not significant between groups: total IIEF score, IPSS voiding subdomain, flow rates, OABSS, voided volume and NIH-CPSI. PSA (a prostate safety marker) was stable (p=0.7206).

Human Clinical Study Results: Eye Health

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week trial, 500 mg/day. 90 participants were randomized and 75 completed per protocol.

OSDI (symptom score): significant reduction vs. placebo, p=0.007 (ANCOVA-adjusted p=0.049).
Tear break-up time (TBUT): significant improvement in tear film stability, p=0.049.
Corneal fluorescein staining: significant reduction in clinician-measured corneal surface staining, p=0.037.

Two other measures did not reach statistical significance: the Visual Analog Scale for discomfort (p=0.195) and Schirmer’s test for tear volume (p=0.499).

Preclinical Evidence

In a rat dry eye model (oral PCE 150 mg/kg, with an omega-3 comparator group, 7 days, n=5/group), compared with untreated model animals:

Tear volume restored to near-normal levels (p<0.0001)
Corneal irregularity score reduced from 3.5 to ~1.3 (p<0.0001)
Goblet cell density restored dose-dependently (p<0.0001)
Apoptotic cells reduced to near-normal (p<0.0001)

Additional preclinical (animal) studies have examined eye strain (retinal blood flow, cGMP) and dry AMD (outer nuclear layer, ERG amplitudes) models. Preclinical findings do not guarantee equivalent results in humans.

Published Studies

Prostate Health

Kim et al. (2022). "Purple Corn Extract Improves Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia by Regulating Prostate Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 70, 5561–5569.
Kim, Choi, Lee et al. (2025). "Purple corn extract improves benign prostatic hyperplasia by inhibiting 5 alpha-reductase type 2 and inflammation in testosterone propionate-induced rats." Frontiers in Pharmacology.

Eye Health

Lee et al. (2023). “Purple Corn Extract Improves Dry Eye Symptoms in Models Induced by Desiccating Stress and Extraorbital Lacrimal Gland Excision.” Nutrients, 15(24), 5063.

(Clinical study report for human RCT available upon request — contact thomas@sunbiogroup.com.)