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Infections
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Berberine: Berberine can be an effective adjunctive antimicrobial agent. A laboratory study found that berberine helped inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus which can cause, among other things, sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis, and a range of skin conditions.1
Naturopathic Medicine and the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Published in Stephen T. Sinatra, Mark C. Houston, Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2022
Berberine has been extensively studied in clinical trials for lowering blood sugar, lipids, and blood pressure. There have been over 30 clinical studies with berberine in these disorders. In regard to its effects on blood lipids, not only does it lower total and LDL cholesterols (typically 20%–30%), unlike statins, berberine also lowers blood triglycerides (−20%) and raises beneficial HDL cholesterol (7%–12%). Berberine has also been shown to lower apolipoprotein B by 13%–15%, which is another very important risk factor to reduce heart disease. Studies also supported that berberine combined with conventional drugs in these conditions is safe and can produce better results than the drugs used alone. Side effects with berberine occurred at much lower rates and were milder than prescription drugs.33–35
Lessons to Be Learnt from Ayurveda
Published in D. Suresh Kumar, Ayurveda in the New Millennium, 2020
Prachi Garodia, Sosmitha Girisa, Varsha Rana, Ajaikumar B. Kunnumakkara, Bharat B. Aggarwal
In humans, berberine has the property of lowering lipids and the insulin-resistance status, as observed in numerous randomized clinical trials. Moreover, berberine possesses the ability to decrease endothelial inflammation and improve the vascular health condition in patients affected by cardiovascular diseases (Cicero and Baggioni 2016). Fenugreek has been showed to lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels in animals. It decreases plasma cholesterol in chickens and rabbits, reducing risk for heart disease. Polyphenols from fenugreek seed extract protect from ethanol-induced damage in human liver cells and the effect is comparable to hepatoprotective drug silymarin (Thomas et al. 2011).
Effects of Tiaopi Xiezhuo decoction on constipation and gut dysbiosis in patients with peritoneal dialysis
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2023
Yu Peng, Yuting Zeng, Tingting Zheng, Xiaoning Xie, Jianfeng Wu, Lizhe Fu, Fuhua Lu, La Zhang, Yang Chen, Xusheng Liu, Lei Wang
TXD is developed from the historical Sanhuang Xiexin Decoction, and consists of R. palmatum, C. chinensis, and Z. officinale at a ratio of 1:1:1. Based on the HPLC analysis (Figure 2), there are 15 peaks mainly from R. palmatum and C. chinensis. Due to the HPLC experimental difference (Tao et al. 2009), we didn’t detect peaks from Z. officinale. Among 15 peaks, two of the main compounds in TXD solution are epiberberine and berberine. Berberine is a natural pentacyclic isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological effects. Abundant evidence suggests that berberine can modulate gut microbiota in animal and clinical studies, which reduces the composition of harmful bacteria (such as E. coli and Enterococci bacteria), enriches beneficial bacteria including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, and elevates SCFA production in the colon (Habtemariam 2020). There is no study to support whether epiberberine has similar effects on the modulation of gut microbiota to berberine. In the present study, our results demonstrated that TXD intervention modulates the structure of gut dysbiosis in patients with PD (Figure 5). Although not consistent with that accumulated by berberine in the references, most of the enriched species by TXD are considered as SCFA-producing bacteria and to promote human health (Thompson et al. 1992; Morotomi et al. 2009; Scheiman et al. 2019; Vacca et al. 2020). This difference may be attributed to other compounds in TXD which may have effects to regulate the composition of gut microbiota.
The effects of Berberis vulgaris L. and Berberis aristata L. in metabolic syndrome patients: a systematic and meta-analysis study
Published in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2023
Babak Roshanravan, Shahnaz Yousefizadeh, Betul Apaydin Yildirim, Tahereh Farkhondeh, Alireza Amirabadizadeh, Milad Ashrafizadeh, Marjan Talebi, Saeed Samarghandian
The most active components of this plant are composed of alkaloids (Isoquinoline) including berberine, berbamine, and palmatine. Several randomised clinical trials indicated the lipid-lowering and insulin-resistance impacts of berberine. Additionally, clinical trials have demonstrated the protective effects of berberine in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological disorders, and also cancer. The adverse effects of berberine have not been reported except slight gastrointestinal reactions in some subjects. Although several clinical studies have indicated the protective impact of B. vulgaris L. and B. aristata L. in the metabolic syndrome; but, the findings are controversial. The current review is based on systematic and meta-analysis evaluation which was performed to demonstrate B. vulgaris L. and B. aristata L. effects in metabolic syndrome patients.
A patent review of berberine and its derivatives with various pharmacological activities (2016–2020)
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, 2022
Yuan Kong, Lin Li, Lin-Guo Zhao, Pan Yu, Dong-Dong Li
Berberine has traditionally been employed for treating intestinal bacterial infections. Modern studies have revealed that it has multiple pharmacological effects. Therefore, this paper reviews dozens of representative patents on the pharmacological activities of berberine and berberine derivatives during the years 2016–2020. These patents are discussed with regarding to three main aspects: (1) improving the bioavailability of berberine; (2) increasing a certain pharmacological activity of berberine, such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity; (3) revealing some new pharmacological mechanisms and indications. In terms of bioavailability of berberine, this kind of problem can be ameliorated mainly by designing new drug delivery systems. Berberine has a wide range of pharmacological activities because it is a multi-target drug. In order to enhance pharmacological activities, these patents were involved with chemical modification of berberine and preparation of ion-pair compounds. With the development of new methods in pharmacological research, new mechanisms and indications in the pharmacology of berberine will be revealed continuously. Hence, some new pharmacological mechanisms and indications of berberine are also briefly introduced in this review. Finally, the above analysis of patents shows that berberine can be regarded as a lead compound, of which the selectivity can be improved by making its derivatives or formulations, so that berberine has a substantial potential to be developed as a drug in antitumor, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antibacterial, and the rest.