BackgroundBerberis vulgaris is a well known plant with traditional herbal medical history. The aims of this study was to bioscreen and compare the in vitro biological activity (antioxidant, cholinergic, antidaibetic and the anticancer) of barberry crude extract and berberine active compound.MethodsThe effect of B. vulgaris extract and berberine chloride on cellular thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) formation, diphenyle–α-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) oxidation, cellular nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging capability, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α-gulcosidase activities were spectrophotometrically determined. On the other hand, the effect of extract and berberine as anticancer was estimated on three different cell lines which were MCF-7, HepG-2, and Caco-2 cells by using neutral red uptake assay which compared with control normal cells (PBMC).ResultsOur results showed that barberry crude extract contains 0.6 mg berberine/mg crude extract. Barberry extract showed potent antioxidative capacity through decreasing TBARS, NO and the oxidation of DPPH that associated with GPx and SOD hyperactivation. Inhibitory effect of berberis crude extract on α-glucosidase was more potent than that of berberine chloride, while both had the same AChE inhibitory effect. Besides, different concentrations of both berberine chloride and barberry ethanolic extract showed to have no growth inhibitory effect on normal blood cells (PBMC). Otherwise, both berberine chloride and barberry ethanolic extract showed to have inhibitory effect on the growth of breast, liver and colon cancer cell lines (MCF7, HepG2 and CACO-2, respectively) at different incubation times starting from 24 hrs up to 72 hrs and the inhibitory effect increased with time in a dose dependant manner.ConclusionThis work demonstrates the potential of the barberry crude extract and its active alkaloid, berberine, on suppressing lipid peroxidation, suggesting a promising use in the treatment of hepatic oxidative stress, Alzheimer and idiopathic male factor infertility. Beside, berberis vulgaris ethanolic extract is safe non-toxic extract as it was not inhibit the growth of PBMC that can induce cancer cell death that could return to its powerful antioxidant activity.

Berberine is a plant alkaloid that has several pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, antilipidemic, and anti-inflammatory effects. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) triggers different aspects of disorders such as impaired endogenous lipid metabolism, hypercholesterolemia, oxidative stress, and neurotoxicity. In this study, we examined the mechanism by which NASH induces neurotoxicity and the protective effect of berberine against both NASH and its associated neurotoxicity. NASH induced rats showed significant impairments in lipid metabolism with increased serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The NASH induced group also demonstrated a significant oxidative stress which is characterized by increased TBARs level and decreased antioxidant capacity such as GSH and SOD levels. Moreover, the NASH induction was associated with inflammation which was demonstrated by increased TNFα and nitric oxide levels. Hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia were observed in the NASH induced group. Also, our results showed a significant increase in the expression of the acetylcholine esterase (AChE) and amyloid beta precursor protein (AβPP). These changes were significantly correlated with decreased insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) and beta-amyloid40 (Aβ 40) and increased beta-amyloid42 (Aβ 42) in the hippocampal region. Daily administration of berberine (50 mg/kg) for three weeks ameliorated oxidative stress, inflammation, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and the observed neurotoxicity.

The most common cause of male infertility is idiopathic. Oxidative stress (OS) would play a vital role in etiology of idiopathic male infertility because of its targeting to spermatozoa plasma membrane rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. To examine OS effect on Egyptian men fertility, sperm samples were obtained from infertile idiopathic patients (25 to 35 years old). The samples were categorized into 4 groups: fertile group (n = 20); azospermia's patients (n = 20); normospermic patients (n = 20) and oligospermic patients (n = 40). Induced OS was tracked by measuring the alteration in prooxidant level (TBARS) as well as activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-Stransferase (GST), glutathione peroxide (GPX) and reduced glutathione (GSH). The TBARS levels were significantly high in infertile patients (within a range of 33.89 to 81.77%) compared to the healthy individuals. GST, SOD and GSH were significantly low in oligospermic patients by 33.33, 39.655 and 53.16%, respectively while GPX was higher by 87.5%. In azospermic patients, GSH and SOD activities were lower by 50% while GPX reached its maximum activity (93.75%). For normospermic patients with high immotile sperm, SOD activity was higher by 62.06% while both GSH and GPX were lower by 36.54 and 70.31%, respectively compared to the healthy individuals. Our results obviously emphasize the association of OS level in seminal plasma with the incidence and progression of the idiopathic infertility in infertile patients. Thus, seminal reactive oxygen species (ROS) would be used as a specific and sensitive biomarker for idiopathic male infertility.