Some excerpts from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberine
I find it interesting that, in addition to direct cancer benefit, it suggests benefit to diabetes and depression (like metformin, prozac):
Cancer
Berberine has drawn extensive attention towards its antineoplastic effects.
[36][37] It seems to suppress the growth of a wide variety of tumor cells including breast cancer, leukemia, melanoma
[38], epidermoid carcinoma, hepatoma, oral carcinoma, glioblastoma, prostate carcinoma, gastric carcinoma.
[39][40] Animal studies have shown that berberine can suppress chemical-induced carcinogenesis, tumor promotion, tumor invasion,
[41][42][43][44][45] prostate cancer,
[46][47][48][49] neuroblastoma,
[50][51] and
leukemia.
[27][52] It is a radiosensitzer of tumor cells but not of normal cells. How berberine mediates these effects is not fully understood, but its ability to inhibit angiogenesis and to modulate Mcl-1, Bcl-xL, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, MDR, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- and IL-6 , iNOS, IL-12, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and ELAM-1 expression, MCP-1 and CINC-1, cyclin D1, activator protein (AP-1), HIF-1 , PPAR- , and topoisomerase II has been shown. By using yeast mutants, berberine was found to bind and inhibit stress-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase activation. Because apoptotic, carcinogenic, and inflammatory effects and various gene products (such as TNF- , IL-6, COX-2, adhesion molecules, cyclin D1, and MDR) modulated by berberine are regulated by the transcription factor nuclear factor- B (NF- B), it is postulated that this pathway plays a major role in the action of berberine.
[53] Berberine suppressed NF-kappaB activation induced by various inflammatory agents and carcinogens. This alkaloid also suppressed constitutive NF-kappaB activation found in certain tumor cells. It seems to protect against side effects of radiation therapy in lung cancer.
[54] Berberine, 300 mg three times a day orally, also seems to inhibit complication of abdominal or pelvic radiation, called radiation-induced acute intestinal symptoms (RIAISs).
[55] The studies suggest that its use in clinical development may be more as a cytostatic agent than a cytotoxic compound.
Mental health
Berberine seems to act as an herbal antidepressant.
[56][57][58] Berberine inhibits
prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) in a dose-dependent manner. Berberine is also known to bind
sigma receptors like many synthetic antidepressant drugs. As berberine is a natural compound that has been safely administered to humans, preliminary results suggest the initiation of clinical trials in patients with depression, bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, or related diseases in which cognitive capabilities are affected, with either the extract or pure berberine.
Diabetes, dyslipidemias and cardiovascular conditions
Berberine has been tested and used successfully in experimental
[10] and human
diabetes mellitus.
[11][12] Berberine has been shown to lower elevated blood glucose as effectively as
metformin,
[13] by inducing glycolysis,
[14] preventing
insulin resistance[15] and acting like
incretins.
[16] Berberine might exert its insulinotropic effect in isolated rat islets by up-regulating the expression of
hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha, which probably acts solely or together with other HNFs to modulate glucokinase activity, rendering β cell more sensitive to glucose fluctuation and response more effectively to glucose challenge.
[17] Berberine seems to inhibit human
dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP IV) as well as the pro-diabetic target human
protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (h-PTP 1B), which explain at least some of its anti-hyperglycemic activities.
[18] Berberine has been shown to boost the effects of metformin and 2,4-thiazolodinedione (THZ) and can partly replace the commercial drugs, which could lead to a reduction in toxicity and side effects of the latter.
[19]
Not sure if studies show oral benefit/risk, but it is available as a supplement:
http://www.healthdesigns.com/vital-n...a_7cVN_d_VNBER
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