Role of berberine in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Berberine, an important protoberberine isoquinoline alkaloid, has several pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, glucose- and cholesterol-lowering, antitumoral, and immunomodulatory properties. Substantial studies suggest that berberine may be beneficial to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by limiting the pathogenesis of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Increasing evidence has indicated that berberine exerts a protective role in atherosclerosis related to lipid- and glucose-lowering properties, implicating that berberine has the potential to inhibit these risk factors for AD. This review also attempts to discuss the pharmacological basis through which berberine may retard oxidative stress and neuroinflammation to exhibit its protective role in AD. Accordingly, berberine might be considered a potential therapeutic approach to prevent or delay the process of AD. However, more detailed investigations along with a safety assessment of berberine are warranted to clarify the role of berberine in limiting these risk factors and AD-related pathologies.

Aptamer-functionalized Fe3 O4 magnetic nanoparticles as a solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the selective extraction of berberine from Cortex phellodendri

“…Berberine, an isoquinoline‐type alkaloid, is the major active constituent, which is characterized by a diversity of pharmacological effects that have applications in different therapeutic areas . For example, berberine and its synthetic derivatives have been investigated for application in cancer and inflammation , obesity , diabetes , atherosclerosis , Alzheimer's disease , rheumatoid arthritis , and cardiovascular diseases .…”

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

“…Berberine (BBR) is a small isoquinoline alkaloid molecule that can be isolated from plants and holds many pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, antitumoral, and metabolic modulation effects (Cai et al, 2016). It passes through the bloodbrain barrier (BBB) and has many positive effects against some neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD; Jiang et al, 2015;Cai et al, 2016).…”

Synergistic Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase by Alkaloids Derived from Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix, Coptidis Rhizoma and Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex

“…There are different varieties of alkaloids in TCM, e.g., galantamine from Lycoris radiata, berberine from Coptis chinensis, and huperzine A from Huperzia serrata. Many of the alkaloids in TCMs have AChE inhibitory activity and show anti-inflammatory activity [40][41][42]. Out of the 150 alkaloids that we tested, 60 showed AChE inhibition.…”