Traditionally, herbal compounds have been the focus of scientific interest for the last several centuries, and continuous research into their medicinal potential is underway. Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from plants that possess a broad array of medicinal properties, including anti-diarrheal, anti-fibrotic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, antiarrhythmic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic effects, and is frequently utilized as a traditional Chinese medicine. BBR promotes metabolisms of glucose and lipids by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, stimulating glycolysis and inhibiting functions of mitochondria; all of these ameliorate type 2 diabetes mellitus. BBR has also been shown to have benefits in congestive heart failure, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. BBR has been investigated as an interesting pharmacophore with the potential to contribute significantly to the research and development of novel therapeutic medicines for a variety of disorders. Despite its enormous therapeutic promise, the clinical application of this alkaloid was severely limited because of its unpleasant pharmacokinetic characteristics. Poor bioavailability, limited absorption, and poor water solubility are some of the obstacles that restricted its use. Nanotechnology has been suggested as a possible solution to these problems. The present review aims at recent updates on important therapeutic activities of BBR and different types of nanocarriers used for the delivery of BBR in different diseases.

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/12/3705/pdf?version=1654759360

Expatiating the Pharmacological and Nanotechnological Aspects of the Alkaloidal Drug Berberine: Current and Future Trends

Atherosclerosis is a great epidemic in the whole world, which remains high death rates. When it comes to atherosclerosis, it is commonly acknowledged that endothelial cell (EC) disfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration, and inflammatory cell recruitment are crucial in the atherosclerosis progress. Other studies show that vascular stem cell (VSC) also plays a critical role in cardiovascular system. Since atherosclerosis is the prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality and has lots of complications with poor prognosis, it urges researchers to find multi-target drugs with less adverse to apply to the clinical treatment. As an extract of Chinese traditional herbs, berberine (BBR) is well-known for its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects in the digestive system. Nowadays, its underlying anti-CVD mechanisms attract fast-growing interest. An array of pharmacological actions possessed by berberine such as antioxidation, regulation of neurotransmitters and enzymes, and cholesterol-lowering effects have been substantiated. With the research of berberine, both in vivo and in vitro, is in smooth progress, this review will shed light on its impact on these above-mentioned cells to provide a brand-new perspective for a further understanding of berberine.

Effects of Berberine on Atherosclerosis

Purpose Berberine (BBR) is an effective component of Huanglian and has shown to attenuate atherosclerosis (AS); however, the detailed mechanism of BBR-mediated protective actions against AS remains elusive This study was undertaken to examine the effects of BBR on aortic atherosclerotic plaque stability and the expression of autophagy-related proteins in AS rats with damp-heat syndrome or yang deficiency Methods Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into (1) control (CON); (2) damp-heat syndrome atherosclerosis (AS + DH); (3) yang deficiency syndrome atherosclerosis (AS + YX); (4) damp-heat syndrome atherosclerosis + BBR (AS + DH + BBR); (5) yang deficiency syndrome, atherosclerosis + BBR (AS + YX + BBR); and (6) damp-heat syndrome, atherosclerosis + BBR + 3-methyladenine (AS + DH + BBR + 3-MA) (n = 5/group) groups Pathological morphology, macrophage plaque infiltration, inflammation, and LC3-II and P62 expression were assessed Results Compared with the CON group, the AS + DH and AS + YX groups had an increased plaque area in the aortic tissue with substantial foam cell and macrophage infiltration, and increased levels of IL-1β and TNF-α (P < 001) After four weeks of BBR intervention, the plaque area in the AS + DH + BBR group was reduced with decreased foam cells and macrophage infiltration, and decreased levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, whereas LC3-II protein expression was increased and P62 protein expression was decreased in the AS + DH + BBR group when compared to AS + DH group In addition, the AS + DH + BBR + 3-MA group exhibited a significantly enlarged plaque, substantial foam cell and macrophage infiltration, increased levels of IL-1β and TNF-α, and decreased LC3-II and P62 (P < 001) expression when compared to the AS + DH + BBR group Conclusion Our results indicated that the BBR could inhibit arterial plaque formation and alleviate the inflammatory response in the aortic tissues in the AS rats with damp-heat syndrome possibly via promoting autophagy The molecular mechanisms of BBR-mediated protective effects in this animal model still require further investigation

/pdf/berberine-attenuates-arterial-plaque-formation-in-5gompugnn4.pdf

Berberine Attenuates Arterial Plaque Formation in Atherosclerotic Rats with Damp-Heat Syndrome via Regulating Autophagy.

Insulin resistance (IR) and the associated hyperinsulinemia are early pathophysiological changes which, if not well treated, can lead to type 2 diabetes, endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. While diabetes care is fairly well standardized, the prevention and treatment of IR lacks a single pharmaceutical approach and many lifestyle and dietary interventions have been proposed, including a wide range of food supplements. Among the most interesting and well-known natural remedies, alkaloid berberine and the flavonol quercetin have particular relevance in the literature, while silymarin—the active principle of the Silybum marianum thistle—was traditionally used for lipid metabolism disorders and to sustain liver function. This review describes the major defects of insulin signaling leading to IR and the main properties of the three mentioned natural substances, their molecular targets and synergistic action mechanisms. The actions of berberine, quercetin and silymarin are partially superimposable as remedies against reactive oxygen intermediates generated by a high-lipid diet and by NADPH oxidase, which is triggered by phagocyte activation. Furthermore, these compounds inhibit the secretion of a battery of pro-inflammatory cytokines, modulate intestinal microbiota and are especially able to control the various disorders of the insulin receptor and post-receptor signaling systems. Although most of the evidence on the effects of berberine, quercetin and silymarin in modulating insulin resistance and preventing cardiovascular disease derive from experimental studies on animals, the amount of pre-clinical knowledge strongly suggests the need to investigate the therapeutic potential of these substances in human pathology.

/pdf/a-descriptive-review-of-the-action-mechanisms-of-berberine-3bdv18ij.pdf

A Descriptive Review of the Action Mechanisms of Berberine, Quercetin and Silymarin on Insulin Resistance/Hyperinsulinemia and Cardiovascular Prevention

The dynamic balance of cardiomyocytes and neurons is essential to maintain normal physiological functions of heart and brain. If redundant cells die in tissues, serious cardio-cerebrovascular diseases would occur such as hypertension, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. The regulation of cell death plays a role in promoting or alleviating cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent new type of cell death that has been proved to occur in a variety of diseases. In this review, we focus on the critical role of ferroptosis and its regulatory mechanisms involved in cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, and discusses the important function of ferroptosis-related inhibitors, which will provide the potential targets and strategies for the prevention and treatment of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.

Ferroptosis: New Dawn for Overcoming the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Atherosclerosis is a common metabolic disease characterized by lipid metabolic disorder. The processes of atherosclerosis include endothelial dysfunction, new endothelial layer formation, lipid sediment, foam cell formation, plaque formation, and plaque burst. Owing to the adverse effects of first-line medications, it is urgent to discover new medications to deal with atherosclerosis. Berberine is one of the most promising natural products derived from traditional Chinese medicine. However, the panoramic mechanism of berberine against atherosclerosis has not been discovered clearly. In this study, we used network pharmacology to investigate the interaction between berberine and atherosclerosis. We identified potential targets related to berberine and atherosclerosis from several databases. A total of 31 and 331 putative targets for berberine and atherosclerosis were identified, respectively. Then, we constructed berberine and atherosclerosis targets with PPI data. Berberine targets network with PPI data had 3204 nodes and 79437 edges. Atherosclerosis targets network with PPI data had 5451 nodes and 130891 edges. Furthermore, we merged the two PPI networks and obtained the core PPI network from the merged PPI network. The core PPI network had 132 nodes and 3339 edges. At last, we performed functional enrichment analyses including GO and KEGG pathway analysis in David database. GO analysis indicated that the biological processes were correlated with G1/S transition of mitotic cells cycle. KEGG pathway analysis found that the pathways directly associated with berberine against atherosclerosis were cell cycle, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, MAPK signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. After combining the results in context with the available treatments for atherosclerosis, we considered that berberine inhibited inflammation and cell proliferation in the treatment of atherosclerosis. Our study provided a valid theoretical foundation for future research.

/pdf/mechanisms-of-berberine-for-the-treatment-of-atherosclerosis-4anbn1zc7v.pdf

Mechanisms of Berberine for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Based on Network Pharmacology.

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Rong Yu

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Mechanisms of Berberine for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Based on Network Pharmacology.