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Table 6 Main clinical application and mechanism of berberine

From: The status of and trends in the pharmacology of berberine: a bibliometric review [1985–2018]

Clinical application

Mechanism

Literature

Anti-diarrheal

Antibacterial (e.g., Vibrio cholerae)

Inhibition of intestinal smooth muscle movement

regulates intestinal motility

Inhibition of intestinal mucosa K+’s influx

restores intestinal barrier function

[10, 41,42,43,44]

Anticancer

(cancer arising from leucocytes, liver, lung, stomach, colon, skin, oral, etc.)

Chemical carcinogenic protection

Independent of the mevalonate pathway

Directly induces apoptosis

Downregulation of nuclear transcription factors

Exertion of indirect effects

Suppression of DNA

[45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54]

Anti-diabetic

Stimulation of AMPK activity and might inhibit PPARγ activity

Promotion of the proliferation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes, reduced lipid accumulation, and inhibition of their differentiation

Insulinotropic effects

Good action for lipid metabolism

Targeting of non-coding RNAs

Promotion the expression of GLUT1

Modulation of the gut microbiota

[55,56,57,58,59,60,61]

Anti-cardiovascular

(e.g., Atherosclerosis)

Inhibition of the expression of LOX-1 through ET-1 receptors

Impacts on potassium ion channels (K +)

Increased NO and cGMP content

Blockage of K + channels sensitive to ATP and voltage

Inhibition of mitogen-activated kinase/extracellular signals

[62,63,64,65]

Anti-inflammatory and immune regulation

(e.g., ulcerative colitis)

Inhibit cox-2, AP-1 binding

Downregulation of activation of ERK 1/2 and p38 signallings pathways,

Inhibition of the production of pro-inflammatory factors

Downregulation of p-ERK, p-p38, and p-JNK activation

Inhibition of the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant 1 induced by lipopolysaccharide

Inhibition of RNA virus reverse transcriptase activity

Inhibition of the synthesis of anti-SRBC antibodies

Reduced content of PGF2a in inflammatory tissues

[66,67,68,69,70,71,72]

Antipsychotic

(e.g., depression, Alzheimer’s,)

Increased NE and 5-HT concentrations in the brain

Promotion of axon extension and axon regeneration in PNS-damaged nerves

Increased expression of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus

Actions on the pathological process of amyloid Aβ, inhibitings glial proliferation

Inhibition of tau hyperphosphorylation induced by calmodulin A and its induced cytotoxicity

Inhibition of MAO activity

[73,74,75,76,77,78]