Biological properties and clinical applications of berberine
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Biological properties and clinical applications of berberine Danyang Song1, Jianyu Hao (
✉)1, Daiming Fan (✉)1,2
1
Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China; 2State key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, China
© Higher Education Press 2020
Abstract Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Coptis chinensis and other Berberis plants, has a wide range of pharmacological properties. Berberine can be used to treat many diseases, such as cancer and digestive, metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. Berberine has protective capacities in digestive diseases. It can inhibit toxins and bacteria, including Helicobacter pylori, protect the intestinal epithelial barrier from injury, and ameliorate liver injury. Berberine also inhibits the proliferation of various types of cancer cells and impedes invasion and metastasis. Recent evidence has confirmed that berberine improves the efficacy and safety of chemoradiotherapies. In addition, berberine regulates glycometabolism and lipid metabolism, improves energy expenditure, reduces body weight, and alleviates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Berberine also improves cardiovascular hemodynamics, suppresses ischemic arrhythmias, attenuates the development of atherosclerosis, and reduces hypertension. Berberine shows potent neuroprotective effects, including antioxidative, antiapoptotic, and anti-ischemic. Furthermore, berberine exerts protective effects against other diseases. The mechanisms of its functions have been extensively explored, but much remains to be clarified. This article summarizes the main pharmacological actions of berberine and its mechanisms in cancer and digestive, metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. Keywords
berberine; Coptis chinensis; pharmacological properties; mechanism; clinical applications
Introduction Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Coptis chinensis and other Berberis plants, has a wide range of pharmacological properties; its chemical structure is represented in Fig. 1. About 2200 years ago, C. chinensis was widely used to treat various diseases and became an important component of Chinese medicinal compounds. Shennong’s Herbal Classic states “Coptis chinensis, is mainly used to prevent or attenuate digestive system disease symptoms, such as abdominal distention and fullness, vomiting and acid regurgitation, diarrhea, jaundice, etc. Besides, it also has potential for the treatment of fever and dizziness, restless, palpitations, hematemesis and epistaxis, conjunctival congestion, toothache, and carbuncle.” However, the mechanisms underlying the pharmacological effects of C. chinensis remain
Received April 22, 2019; accepted October 12, 2019 Correspondence: Daiming Fan, [email protected]; Jianyu Hao, [email protected]
unclear.
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