REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1604071
This article is part of the Research TopicReviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025View all 30 articles
Pharmacological properties and therapeutic potential of berberine: a comprehensive review
Provisionally accepted
Keqin Fan1,2Liangming Zhang1Fangyu Song1,2
Yuehui Zhang1Tong Chen3Xiang Cheng1Ning Su1,2Yan Zou1,2Ting Yu1,3Futing Tan2Wenhao Xu1*
Zijun Yan1,3*- 1Panzhihua Central Hospital, Panzhihua, China
- 2College of Pharmaceutical Science, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China
- 3Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
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In recent decades, the pharmacological properties of botanical drugs have been investigated with increasing depth, offering novel insights into their potential for enhancing healthcare. Berberine (BBR) is an alkaloid extracted from the roots, rhizomes and stem tubers of plants such as Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron amurense, Radix berberidis, and several other plants, which is used not only as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent, but also for the treatment of cancer and chronic diseases. BBR has demonstrated remarkable therapeutic efficacy in the management of disorders affecting the nervous, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems, characterized by its high safety profile and minimal adverse effects. Despite the substantial progress made in understanding BBR's pharmacodynamics, its precise mechanisms of action remain incompletely elucidated and warrant further systematic investigation. This study provides an extensive review of the latest pharmacological findings related to berberine and its therapeutic advancements, offering strong evidence for future research and clinical implementation.
Keywords: Berberine, Pharmacological properties, Pharmacodynamics, Therapeutic potential, Application prospects
Received: 01 Apr 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fan, Zhang, Song, Zhang, Chen, Cheng, Su, Zou, Yu, Tan, Xu and Yan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wenhao Xu, Panzhihua Central Hospital, Panzhihua, China
Zijun Yan, Panzhihua Central Hospital, Panzhihua, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.