Objective(s):Berberine, a naturally occurring isoquinoline alkaloid, has shown antitumor properties in some in vitro systems. But the effect of berberine on breast cancer has not yet been completely studied. In this study, we evaluated anticancer properties of berberine in comparison to doxorubicin. Materials and Methods: The antiproliferative effects of berberine and doxorubicin alone and in ...

Berberine [Natural Yellow 18, 5,6-dihydro-9,10-dimethoxybenzo(g)-1,3-benzodioxolo(5,6-a)quinolizinium] is an alkaloid present in plant extracts and has a history of use in traditional Chinese and Native American medicine. Because of its ability to arrest the cell cycle and cause apoptosis of several malignant cell lines, it has received attention as a potential anticancer therapeutic agent. Pre...

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Gemcitabine is widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, but the prognosis is still poor. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from a variety of natural herbs, possesses a variety of pharmacological properties including anticancer effects. In this study, we investigated the anticancer e...

Continuous efforts are being made to develop new drugs or dietary supplements from natural products. These efforts are important in improving the outcomes of many intractable diseases. In an article published in this issue of the International Neurourology Journal, the antiapoptotic effect of berberine against ischemic brain injury in gerbils has been reported [1]. The authors suggest that this...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Berberine and its derivatives display potent analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Here we aimed at characterizing the mechanism of action of berberine in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and cortical neurons using animal models and in vitro tests. METHODS The effect of berberine was characterized in murine models mimicking diarrhea-predominant irritable bow...

Berberine has long been considered a candidate for an antimalarial drug. It exerts a plethora of biological activities and has been used in the treatment of diarrhea and gastro-enteritis for centuries. Here we provide evidence that berberine activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in human hepatoma (HepG2) and rat hepatoma cells stably transfected with a dioxin responsive element fused to...

The isoquinoline alkaloid berberine possesses many pharmacological activities including antibacterial infection. Although the direct bactericidal effect of berberine has been documented, its influence on the antibacterial functions of macrophages is largely unknown. As inflammasome activation in macrophages is important for the defense against bacterial infection, we aimed to investigate the in...

Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from Coptidis Rhizoma, has been shown to induce cancer cell autophagic death. Glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is associated with stress-induced autophagy. However, the related mechanisms between berberine-induced cancer cell autophagy and GRP78 remain to be elucidated. Here, we report that berberine can induce autophagic cancer cell death by el...

Our previous studies illustrated that berberine inhibited adipogenesis in murine-derived 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and human white preadipocytes. In this study, the effects of berberine on the adipogenesis of high-fat diet-induced obesity (FD) or normal diet (ND) mice and possible transcriptional impact are investigated. The results demonstrated that in FD mice, berberine reduced mouse weight gain a...