PMID: 

Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2017 ;17(6):770-783. PMID: 27539316

Abstract Title: 

The Immunomodulatory Potential of Selected Bioactive Plant-Based Compounds in Breast Cancer: A Review.

Abstract: 

Breast cancer has continued to cause high cancer death rates among women worldwide. The use of plants' natural products in breast cancer treatment has received more attention in recent years due to their potentially wider safety margin and the potential to complement conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. Plantbased products have demonstrated anticancer potential through different biological pathways including modulation of the immune system. Immunomodulatory properties of medicinal plants have been shown to mitigate breast cancer cell growth. Different immune cell types participate in this process especially cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, and cytokines including chemokines and tumor necrosis factor-α. Medicinal plants such as Glycyrrhiza glabra, Uncaria tomentosa, Camellia sinensis, Panax ginseng, Prunus armenaica (apricot), Allium sativum, Arctium lappa and Curcuma longa were reported to hold strong potential in breast cancer treatment in various parts of the world. Interestingly, research findings have shown that these plants possess bioactive immunomodulators as their main constituents producing the anticancer effects. These immunomodulatory compounds include ajoene, arctigenin, β-carotene, curcumin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, ginsan, glabridin and quinic acid. In this review, we discussed the ability of these eight immunomodulators in regulating the immune system potentially applicable in breast cancer treatment via anti-inflammatory (curcumin, arctigenin, glabridin and ajoene) and lymphocytes activation (β-carotene, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, quinic acid and ginsan) properties, as well as future research direction in their use for breast cancer treatment.

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PMID: 

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2017 Feb 1 ;150:223-241. Epub 2016 Nov 30. PMID: 27918967

Abstract Title: 

Nanoencapsulation, an efficient and promising approach to maximize wound healing efficacy of curcumin: A review of new trends and state-of-the-art.

Abstract: 

Wound healing is a multifarious and vibrant process of replacing devitalized and damaged cellular structures, leading to restoration of the skin's barrier function, re-establishment of tissue integrity, and maintenance of the internal homeostasis. Curcumin (CUR) and its analogs have gained widespread recognition due to their remarkable anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, anticancer, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and wound healing activities. However, their pharmaceutical significance is limited due to inherent hydrophobic nature, poor water solubility, low bioavailability, chemical instability, rapid metabolism and short half-life. Owing to their pharmaceutical limitations, newer strategies have been attempted in recent years aiming to mitigate problems related to the effective delivery of curcumanoids and to improve their wound healing potential. These advanced strategies include nanovesicles, polymeric micelles, conventional liposomes and hyalurosomes, nanocomposite hydrogels, electrospun nanofibers, nanohybrid scaffolds, nanoconjugates, nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), nanoemulsion, nanodispersion, and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). The superior wound healing activities achieved after nanoencapsulation of the CUR are attributed to its target-specific delivery, longer retention at the target site, avoiding premature degradation of the encapsulated cargo and the therapeutic superiority of the advanced delivery systems over the conventional delivery. We have critically reviewed the literature and summarize the convincing evidence which explore the pharmaceutical significance and therapeutic feasibility of the advanced delivery systems in improving wound healing activities of the CUR and its analogs.

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PMID: 

Int Immunopharmacol. 2017 May ;46:80-86. PMID: 28273557

Abstract Title: 

Curcumin inhibiting Th17 cell differentiation by regulating the metabotropic glutamate receptor-4 expression on dendritic cells.

Abstract: 

Th17 cells have been categorized as a new lineage of CD4+ T cells, and played a crucial role in the pathogenesis of numerous autoimmune disorders. Type 4 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR4), a member of group III mGluRs, recently has been found to be expressed in many types of immune cells and mediate adaptive immunity. Curcumin has been shown to exhibit potent anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties. For the past few years, it has gradually been regarded as an pluripotent immunomodulatory agent that can regulate the activation of immune cells. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy and mechanism of curcumin on Th17 cells. Treatment with curcumin significantly reduced IL-6 and IL-23 production by dendritic cells (DC). Additionally, it had a dramatic reduction in the proliferation of CD4+ T cells co-cultured with DC. Furthermore, expression of the Th17 cells related cytokine profiles (IL-17A and RORγt) was dramatically decreased in curcumin-treated groups. These findings indicated that curcumin inhibited the differentiation and development of Th17 cells. Besides, we found that mGluR4 was constitutively expressed in mouse bone marrow derived DC (BMDC) for the first time. In addition, mGluR4 siRNA-transfected BMDC tipped the balance of T cell differentiation in favor of the Th17 phenotype. We first reported that curcumin increased the mGluR4 expression in mouse BMDC activated with LPS, which likely contributed to the mechanism of inhibiting the Th17 cell differentiation. Our findings suggest that curcumin might be a potential candidate for Th17 related autoimmune disorders.

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PMID: 

Front Pharmacol. 2020 ;11:223. Epub 2020 Mar 13. PMID: 32231564

Abstract Title: 

Effect of Berberine on Atherosclerosis and Gut Microbiota Modulation and Their Correlation in High-Fat Diet-Fed ApoE-/- Mice.

Abstract: 

Atherosclerosis and its associated cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are serious threats to human health and have been reported to be associated with the gut microbiota. Recently, the role of berberine (BBR) in atherosclerosis and gut microbiota has begun to be appreciated. The purposes of this study were to observe the effects of high or low doses of BBR on atherosclerosis and gut microbiota modulation, and to explore their correlation in ApoEmice fed a high-fat diet. A significant decrease in atherosclerotic lesions was observed after treatment with BBR, with the effect of the high dose being more obvious. Both BBR treatments significantly reduced total cholesterol, APOB100, and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels but levels of high/low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lipoprotein (a) were only reduced by high-dose BBR. Decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and increased anti-inflammatory IL-10 and adiponectin levels were observed in the high-dose BBR group, but no decrease in IL-6 or increase in IL-10 was evident using the low-dose of BBR. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that BBR significantly altered the community compositional structure of gut microbiota. Specifically, BBR enriched the abundance of,,,, and, and changed the abundance of. These microbiota displayed good anti-inflammatory effects related to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and were related to glucolipid metabolism.andwere significantly enriched in high-dose BBR group whileandwere more enriched in low-dose, andwas enriched in both BBR doses. Metagenomic analysis further showed an elevated potential for lipid and glycan metabolism and synthesis of SCFAs, as well as reduced potential of TMAO production after BBR treatment. The findings demonstrate that both high and low-dose BBR can improve serum lipid and systemic inflammation levels, and alleviate atherosclerosis induced by high-fat diet in ApoEmice. The effects are more pronounced for the high dose. This anti-atherosclerotic effect of BBR may be partly attributed to changes in composition and functions of gut microbiota which may be associated with anti-inflammatory and metabolism of glucose and lipid. Notably, gut microbiota alterations showed different sensitivity to BBR dose.

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PMID: 

Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2020 Mar ;66(1):29-34. PMID: 32283882

Abstract Title: 

Role of a berberine-based nutritional supplement in reducing diarrhea in subjects with functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Berberine, an alkaloid obtained by extraction from Berberis spp., is a botanical that is widely used in the nutraceutical sector to control cholesterol and blood glucose levels. It is also a molecule that is effective in limiting diarrhea due to its multi-factorial properties, including its antimicrobial, gut eubiotic and antisecretive actions, and its ability to slow gut motility. In our routine clinical practice, we have suggested the use of a berberine-based nutraceutical, formulated with melatonin and depolymerized guar gum, to patients affected by functional diarrhea (FD) or by diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).METHODS: We have therefore retrospectively analyzed the clinical effect of such a nutritional supplement in these two sub-groups of patients.RESULTS: Despite the highly pragmatic scheme of our study, our findings strongly confirm the antidiarrheal properties of berberine and recommend its use in some gut functional diseases characterized by frequent evacuation of mushy and/or watery stools. In fact, even after 30 days of treatment, the berberine-based nutritional supplement significantly reduces diarrheal events by 50-70%. After 90 days, this reduction improves to between 70 and 80%, with a reduction of more than 60% in the number of evacuations per week and with more than 50% of treated subjects demonstrating normalized, according to self-reported Bristol Stool Scale categorization, stool consistency. The product is well tolerated and adherence to the proposed therapy is good. Common side effects of the product are flatulence and meteorism, likely due to the"acarbose-like"berberine effects on gutα-glucosidase.CONCLUSIONS: Patients, especially those preferring"natural"therapy, can be successfully treated, when affected by a gut functional disease characterized by diarrhea, by berberine-based products.

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PMID: 

Front Pharmacol. 2020 ;11:367. Epub 2020 Mar 27. PMID: 32292345

Abstract Title: 

Berberine Protects Against Simulated Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury-Induced H9C2 Cardiomyocytes Apoptosisand Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Apoptosisby Regulating the Mitophagy-Mediated HIF-1α/BNIP3 Pathway.

Abstract: 

Berberine (BBR) has a variety of pharmacological activities and is widely used in Asian countries. However, the clinical application of BBR still lacks scientific basis, what protective mechanism of BBR against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI).experiments, BBR pretreatment regulated autophagy-related protein expression, induced cell proliferation and autophagosome formation, and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) increase in H9C2 cells.experiments, BBR reduced the myocardial infarct size, decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and markedly decreased myocardial enzyme (CK-MB, LDH, and AST) activity-induced I/R. In addition, upon BNIP3 knockdown, the regulatory effects of BBR on the above indicators were weakened both in H9C2 cells and. Luciferase reporter and ChIP assays indicated that BBR mediated BNIP3 expression by enhancing the binding of HIF-1α to the BNIP3 promoter. BBR protects against myocardial I/R injury by inducing cardiomyocytes proliferation, inhibiting cardiomyocytes apoptosis, and inducing the mitophagy-mediated HIF-1α/BNIP3 pathway. Thus, BBR may serve as a novel therapeutic drug for myocardial I/R injury.

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PMID: 

Front Cell Neurosci. 2020 ;14:87. Epub 2020 Apr 9. PMID: 32327976

Abstract Title: 

Berberine Ameliorates Prenatal Dihydrotestosterone Exposure-Induced Autism-Like Behavior by Suppression of Androgen Receptor.

Abstract: 

Many epidemiology studies have shown that maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) results in a greater risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) development, although the detailed mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential mechanism and provide a possible treatment for PCOS-mediated ASD through three experiments: Experiment 1: real-time PCR and western blots were employed to measure gene expression in human neurons, and the luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was used to map the responsive elements on related gene promoters. Experiment 2: pregnant dams were prenatally exposed to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androgen receptor (AR) knockdown (shAR) in the amygdala, or berberine (BBR), and the subsequent male offspring were used for autism-like behavior (ALB) assay followed by biomedical analysis, including gene expression, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function. Experiment 3: the male offspring from prenatal DHT exposed dams were postnatally treated by either shAR or BBR, and the offspring were used for ALB assay followed by biomedical analysis. Our findings showed that DHT treatment suppresses the expression of estrogen receptorβ (ERβ) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) through AR-mediated hypermethylation on the ERβ promoter, and BBR treatment suppresses AR expression through hypermethylation on the AR promoter. Prenatal DHT treatment induces ERβ suppression, oxidative stress and mitochondria dysfunction in the amygdala with subsequent ALB behavior in male offspring, and AR knockdown partly diminishes this effect. Furthermore, both prenatal and postnatal treatment of BBR partly restores prenatal DHT exposure-mediated ALB. In conclusion, DHT suppresses ERβ expression through the AR signaling pathway by hypermethylation on the ERβ promoter, and BBR restores this effect through AR suppression. Prenatal DHT exposure induces ALB in offspring through AR-mediated ERβ suppression, and both prenatal and postnatal treatment of BBR ameliorates this effect. We conclude that BBR ameliorates prenatal DHT exposure-induced ALB through AR suppression, this study may help elucidate the potential mechanism and identify a potential treatment through using BBR for PCOS-mediated ASD.

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PMID: 

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 ;2020:6195050. Epub 2020 Apr 8. PMID: 32328135

Abstract Title: 

Berberine Suppressed Tumor Growth through Regulating Fatty Acid Metabolism and Triggering Cell Apoptosis via Targeting FABPs.

Abstract: 

Aim: To further investigate the mechanism behind the antitumor properties of berberine regarding lipid metabolism.Methods: Cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis assays were performed to determine the antigrowth effects of berberine in vitro. Ectopic xenograft models in Balb/c nude mice were established to determine the antitumor effects of berberine in vivo.Results: Berberine inhibited cell viability and proliferation of MGC803 human gastric cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Berberine induced apoptosis of MGC803 and increased the apoptotic rate with higher doses. Berberine induced the accumulation of fatty acid of MGC803 and suppressed the protein expression of FABPs and PPAR. The FABP inhibitor BMS309403 recapitulated the effects of berberine on MGC803 cells. In the xenograft model, berberine significantly decreased the tumor volume and tumor weight and induced apoptosis in tumor tissues. Berberine significantly elevated the fatty acid content and inhibited the expression of FABPs and PPARin the MGC803 xenograft models.Conclusion: Berberine exerted anticancer effects on human gastric cancer both in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis, which was due to the reduced protein expression of FABPs and the accumulation of fatty acid.

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PMID: 

Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Apr 27 ;127:110137. Epub 2020 Apr 27. PMID: 32353823

Abstract Title: 

The effect of Berberine on weight loss in order to prevent obesity: A systematic review.

Abstract: 

This study provides a critical overview of experimental studies in vitro, in humans, and in animals that evaluated the efficacy of Berberine and its effect on management of obesity and the related metabolic consequences. As a result of this review, we summarized the effects of Berberine in different models and the related mechanism of actions. In preclinical models, Berberine demonstrates that it affects gut microbiota by reducing diversity of microbes starting at a dosage of 100 mg/kg/day. Moreover, in animal models, Berberine explicates an action on glucose through the inhibition ofα-glycosidase at a dose of 200 mh/kg/day. Berberine is also known to be effective against differentiation of adipocytes through a decrease in LXRs, PPARs, and SREBPs expression at 150 mg/kg/day. Other mechanism ascribed to Berberine are related to its inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis through the Phospheoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), Glucose-6-phosphate (G6Pase) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Furthermore, Berberine (associated to Red Yeast Rice) is effective in decreasing lipid levels in rats, which consequently lowers the change of weight gain at dosage of 40 mg/kg to 380mg/kg/day. All the above preclinical data are confirmed in human studies where Berberine can modulate the diversity of gut microbes at the dose of 500 mg/day. In addition, Berberine is found to have a beneficial impact on gene regulation for the absorption of cholesterol at a daily dose of 300 mg in humans, an amelioration on glucose accumulation at 1.0 g daily dose was also observed. For all these reasons, this review gives an important good account of the impact of Berberine in obesity treatment and prevention.

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PMID: 

PLoS One. 2020 ;15(5):e0232630. Epub 2020 May 1. PMID: 32357187

Abstract Title: 

Berberine inhibits free fatty acid and LPS-induced inflammation via modulating ER stress response in macrophages and hepatocytes.

Abstract: 

Inflammation plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from Chinese medicinal herbs, has been widely used to treat various diseases, including liver diseases for hundreds of years. The previous studies have shown that BBR inhibits high fat-diet-induced steatosis and inflammation in rodent models of NAFLD. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study is aimed to identify the potential mechanisms by which BBR inhibits free fatty acid (FFA) and LPS-induced inflammatory response in mouse macrophages and hepatocytes. Mouse RAW264.7 macrophages and primary mouse hepatocytes were treated with palmitic acid (PA) or LPS or both with or without BBR (0-10μM) for different periods (0-24 h). The mRNA and protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1) and ER stress genes (CHOP, ATF4, XBP-1) were detected by real-time RT-PCR, Western blot and ELISA, respectively. The results indicated that BBR significantly inhibited PA and LPS-induced activation of ER stress and expression of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages and hepatocytes. PA/LPS-mediated activation of ERK1/2 was inhibited by BBR in a dose-dependent manner. In summary, BBR inhibits PA/LPS-induced inflammatory responses through modulating ER stress-mediated ERK1/2 activation in macrophages and hepatocytes.

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