Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid originally isolated from the Chinese herb Coptischinensis, has been shown to display a wide range of pharmacological effects. The present study aims to investigate the effect of berberine on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized equally into three groups: sham group, IR group, IR + berberine group. Rats were treated w...

In our previous study, we have shown that berberine has both anti-adipogenic and anti-inflammatory effects on 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and the anti-adipogenic effect is due to the down-regulation of adipogenic enzymes and transcription factors. Here we focused more on anti-inflammatory effect of berberine using real time RT-PCR and found it changes expressions of adipokines. We hypothesized that anti...

Berberine, a plant alkaloid used in Chinese medicine, has broad cell-protective functions in a variety of cell lines. Chondrocyte apoptosis contributes to the pathogenesis of cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis (OA). However, little is known about the effect and underlying mechanism of berberine on OA chondrocytes. Here, we assessed the effects of berberine on cartilage degeneration in int...

Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, has a wide range of beneficial properties, including anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and cholesterol-lowering effects. Recently findings suggest that berberine improves glucose and lipid metabolism disorders. In the present study, we examined the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of berberine on α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MS...

Berberine exerts neuroprotective effect in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration disease. However, berberine effect in acute spinal cord injury is yet to be elucidated. Herein, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of berberine in spinal cord injury (SCI). Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to SCI by an intraperitoneal injection of berberine post-injury. The neurobehavioral recovery, cyt...

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang (HLJDT), a classical Chinese prescription, has been clinically employed to treat cerebral ischemia for thousands of years. Geniposide is the major active ingredient in HLJDT. The aim is to investigate the comparative evaluations on pharmacokinetics of geniposide in MCAO rats in pure geniposide, geniposide : berberine, and geniposide : berberine : baicalin. Obviously, the ...

Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from goldenthread, Coptidis Rhizoma and shown to have many biological and pharmacological effects. We previously reported that berberine promotes cell survival and differentiation of neural stem cells. To examine whether berberine has survival promoting effect on damaged neuronal cells, we generated a cellular model under oxidative stress and an ne...

Berberine and the methylenedioxy ring-opening derivatives palmatine and jatrorrhizine are active ingredients in immunomodulatory plants, such as goldenseal. This study aimed to illustrate the effects of protoberberines on aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1 in the estrogen receptor (ER)α(+) MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Among protoberberines at non-cytotoxic conc...

By introducing long carbon-chain alkyl groups at the C-13 position of berberine and palmatine, 13-n-hexyl/13-n-octyl berberine and palmatine chloride analogues 4a-d were synthesized and examined by MTT assays for cytotoxic activity in seven human cancer cell lines (7701QGY, SMMC7721, HepG2, CEM, CEM/VCR, KIII, Lewis), yielding IC₅₀ values of 0.02 ± 0.01-13.58 ± 2.84 μM. 13-n-Octyl palmatine (co...

Recently, it is implicated that the abnormality of Akt signaling pathway is involved in the diabetic pathology. Previous studies have demonstrated that berberine could decrease blood glucose by elevating liver glycogen synthesis. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of berberine on fasting blood glucose, liver glycogen, Akt, Glyco...