The Effect of Berberine on Reproduction and Metabolism in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials

Table 1

Characteristics of randomized controlled trials included in this systematic review and meta-analyses.

Study	Study location	Sample size	Age (year) (mean ± SD)	Diagnostic criteria	Treatment group			Outcomes
					Treatments	Dosage	Duration (weeks)
An et al. [33]	China	50	28.2 ± 3.8	2003 Rotterdam	BBR	500 mg, tid	12	Live birth pregnancy, adverse events, BMI, WC, WHR
		50	28.7 ± 4.2		MET	500 mg, tid		SHBG, FAI, TT, LH, FSH, FPG, FINS, TC, TG, HOMA, HDL, LDL
		50	28.4 ± 4.0		Placebo	1 pill, tid
Chen et al. [23]	China	50	25.9 ± 2.5	UK	CPA	1 pill, qd	3	TC, TGHDL, LDL
		50	26.1 ± 2.5		BBR + CPA	1000 mg/d, bid
Li and Yu [24]	China	53	18–36	2003 Rotterdam	BBR + LET	500 mg, tid	12	Ovulation (subject)
		45			MET + LET	500 mg, tid
Li et al. [25]	China	30	24.61 ± 4.79	2003 Rotterdam	BBR	300 mg, tid	12	Pregnancy, TT, BMI, WC, WHR, FPG, PPG, FINS, PPINS, LH, FSH, LF, HOMA, TC, TG, HDL, LDL
		30	26.86 ± 4.04		MET	500 mg, tid
Liu [34]	China	23	26.09 ± 4.63	2003 Rotterdam	Herbal	400 mg, tid	12	Pregnancy, BMI, LH, FSH, LF, TT, FPG, FINS, HOMA, TG, LDL, HDL
		23	25.70 ± 4.68		Herbal + BBR
Liu et al. [25]	China	40	26.52 ± 6.85	2003 Rotterdam	BBR + CC + CPA	1000 mg, tid	12	Pregnancy, ovulation (cycle), FPG, FINS, TC, SHBG, TT, LH
		40	27.53 ± 8.16		CC + CPA
Ma et al. [31]	China	28	26.75 ± 2.62	2003 Rotterdam	CPA	1 pill, qd	12	FPG, FINS, BMI, TC, WHR, TG, TT, LH, FSH, HDL, LDL, HOMA
		31	25.74 ± 2.66		CPA + BBR	1000 mg, bid
		30	26.03 ± 2.82		CPA + MET	500 mg, tid
		33	26.27 ± 1.89		CPA + BBR + MET
Wang et al. [32]	China	28	25.5 ± 3.2	2003 Rotterdam	MET	500 mg, tid	12	BMI, TT, LH, FSH, LF
		28			MET + BBR	500 mg, tid
Wang et al. [27]	China	42	24.5 ± 3.4	UK	MET	500 mg, tid	12	Ovulation (subject), BMI, WHR, TT, LH, FSH, LF
		42	24.3 ± 3.5		MET + BBR	500 mg, tid
Wei et al. [15]	China	31	26.75 ± 2.62	2003 Rotterdam	Placebo + CPA	1 pill, qd	12	BMI, WC, WHR, FPG, FINS, PPG, TC, TG, LDL, HDL
		35	25.74 ± 2.66		BBR + CPA	500 mg, tid		SHBG, TT, FAI, LH, FSH, HOMA
		34	26.03 ± 2.82		MET + CPA	500 mg, tid
Wu et al. [28]	China	214	27.8 ± 3.7	2003 Rotterdam	BBR + Placebo	1500 mg, qd	24	Live birth pregnancy, conception, ovulation (subject cycle), adverse events
		215	27.8 ± 3.6		LET + Placebo	2.5 mg, qd
		215	27.8 ± 3.6		BBR + LET
Zhu et al. [30]	China	25	47.64 ± 8.32	2003 Rotterdam	Placebo + CPA	1 pill, qd	3	BMI, WHR, FPG, TC, TG, TT, adverse events, LH, FSH
		25	48.36 ± 8.45		BBR + CPA	300 mg, tid

2003 Rotterdam: 2003 Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM criteria; BBR: berberine; MET: metformin; CPA: cyproterone; LET: letrozole; BMI: body mass index; WC: waist circumference; WHR: waist circumference-to-hip circumference ratio; TT: total testosterone; SHBG: sex-hormone binding globulin; FAI: free androgen index; LH: luteinizing hormone; FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; LF: luteinizing hormone to follicle-stimulating hormone ratio; FPG: fasting plasma glucose; PPG: postprandial plasma glucose; FINS: fasting insulin; PPINS: postprandial plasma insulin; HOMA: homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; TC: total cholesterol; TG: triglycerides; HDL: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.