Anticancer Effects and Mechanisms of Berberine from Medicinal Herbs: An Update Review

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2022 Jul 27

PMID 35889396

Authors

Ruo-Gu Xiong

Si-Yu Huang

Si-Xia Wu

Dan-Dan Zhou

Zhi-Jun Yang

Adila Saimaiti

Cai-Ning Zhao

Ao Shang

Yun-Jian Zhang

Ren-You Gan

Hua-Bin Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Cancer has been a serious public health problem. Berberine is a famous natural compound from medicinal herbs and shows many bioactivities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, and antimicrobial activities. In addition, berberine shows anticancer effects on a variety of cancers, such as breast, lung, gastric, liver, colorectal, ovarian, cervical, and prostate cancers. The underlying mechanisms of action include inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, suppressing metastasis, inducing apoptosis, activating autophagy, regulating gut microbiota, and improving the effects of anticancer drugs. This paper summarizes effectiveness and mechanisms of berberine on different cancers and highlights the mechanisms of action. In addition, the nanotechnologies to improve bioavailability of berberine are included. Moreover, the side effects of berberine are also discussed. This paper is helpful for the prevention and treatment of cancers using berberine.

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