Berberine, a Herbal Metabolite in the Metabolic Syndrome: The Risk Factors, Course, and Consequences of the Disease

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27041351

Anna Och ^1,*, Marek Och ², Renata Nowak¹, Dominika Podgórska³ and Rafał Podgórski ⁴

¹Chair and Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical University of Lublin, 1 Chodźki St., 20-093 Lublin, Poland; ²Parexel Poland Sp. z o.o., ul. Żwirki i Wigury 18a, 02-092 Warsaw, Poland; ³Department of Internal Diseases, Institute of Medical Sciences, Medical College of Rzeszow University, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland; ⁴Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Medical Sciences, Medical College of Rzeszow University, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland; rpodgorski@ur.edu.pl * Correspondence: anna.och@umlub.pl

Abstract

In recent years, the health of patients exposed to the consequences of the metabolic syndrome still requires the search for new solutions, and plant nutraceuticals are currently being intensively investigated. Berberine is a plant alkaloid possessing scientiﬁcally determined mecha-nisms of the prevention of the development of atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, as well as cardiovascular complications and cancer. It positively contributes to elevated levels of fasting, postprandial blood glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin, while decreasing insulin resistance. It stimulates glycolysis, improving insulin secretion, and inhibits gluconeogenesis and adipogenesis in the liver; by reducing insulin resistance, berberine also improves ovulation. The anti-obesity action of berberine has been also well-documented. Berberine acts as an anti-sclerotic, lowering the LDL and testosterone levels. The alkaloid exhibits an anti-inﬂammatory property by stalling the expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2. Berberine is neuroprotective and acts as an antidepressive. However, the outcomes in psychiatric patients are nonspeciﬁc, as it has been shown that berberine improves metabolic parameters in schizophrenic patients, acting as an adjuvant during antipsychotic treatment. Berberine acts as an anticancer option by inducing apoptosis, the cell cycle arrest, inﬂuencing MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), and inﬂuencing transcription regulation. The inhibition of carcinogenesis is also combined with lipid metabolism.

Keywords: berberine, metabolic syndrome, cancer, cancer prevention, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, stroke, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, clinical trials