Interaction of Herbal Compounds with Biological Targets: A Case Study with Berberine

Table 6

Comparison of clinical studies of berberine in diabetes patients.

Study type	Study subjects	Berberine dosage	Control treatment	Major findings	Side effects	Reference
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-center	Type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia (𝑛=116)	0.5 g, b.i.d for 3 months	Placebo	Significantly reduced fasting and postload plasma glucose, HbA1c; Significantly reduced triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol	Mild to moderate constipation in 5 patients	[61]
Randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled	Type 2 diabetes (𝑛=36)	0.5 g, t.i.d for 3 months	Metformin (0.5 g t.i.d)	Significantly reduced FBG, PBG, and HbA1c; Significantly reduced plasma triglycerides	Transient gastrointestinal adverse effects. No liver or kidney damage	[14]
	Type 2 diabetes poorly controlled (𝑛=48)	0.5 g, t.i.d for 3 months	Existing anti-diabetic treatment	Lowered FBG and PBG; Significantly decreased HbA1c; Significantly reduced fasting plasma insulin and HOMA-IR
Randomised	Type 2 diabetes (𝑛=97)	1 g/day for 2 months	Metformin (1.5 g/day); rosiglitazone (4 mg/day)	Significantly reduced FBG, HbA1c, and triglycerides; Serum insulin level was declined significantly (𝑃<0.01), increased insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissues; Significantly elevated surface expression of InsR by 3.6-fold	No adverse events	[62]
	Type 2 diabetes with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (𝑛=35)	1 g/day for 2 months	N/A	Significantly reduced FBG and triglyceride levels; Reduced the elevated ALT and aspartate aminotransferase levels

b.i.d: twice daily; t.i.d: three times daily; FBG: fasting blood glucose; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model of assessment—insulin resistance; PBG: postprandial blood glucose.