TY - JOUR
T1 - Berberine and Coptidis Rhizoma as potential anticancer agents
T2 - Recent updates and future perspectives
AU - Wang, Ning
AU - Tan, Hor Yue
AU - Li, Lei
AU - Yuen, Man Fung
AU - Feng, Yibin
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was financially supported by grants from the research council of the University of Hong Kong (Project Codes: 104001764, 104002320, 104002889, 104003422), the Research Grants Committee (RGC) of Hong Kong, HKSAR (Project Code: 766211), Wong’s Donation on Modern Oncology of Chinese Medicine (Project code: 200006276), Gala Family Trust (Project Code: 200007008) and Government-Matching Grant Scheme (Project Code: 207060411). We deeply appreciate review editor (Professor Michael Heinrich) and the reviewers for their advices and constructive comments for this review paper in preparation and review process.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/12/24
Y1 - 2015/12/24
N2 - Ethnopharmacological relevance: The antineoplastic property of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine was correlated with its traditional use of clearing internal fire, removing damp-heat and counteracting toxic pathogens.Aim of the study: The anti-tumor effect of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine was extensively studied since our last comprehensive review in 2009. This study aims to summarize the recent updates and give rise to perspectives of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine as potential novel antineoplastic agents.Methods: Quality studies in recent 5 years were retrieved from PubMed, Medline and CNKI with keywords including Coptis, Coptidis Rhizoma, huanglian, berberine, tumor and cancer. Studies were focused on the pharmacological actions of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine in cancer progression.Results: It was shown that Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine may repress tumor progression by regressing abnormal cell proliferation, arresting cell cycle and inducing cell death. Studies also highlighted the actions of Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine in inhibiting tumor cell invasion and angiogenesis, which in turn abolish cancer metastasis. Some studies have also been conducted to reveal the potential effect of Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine in regulating tumor stromal microenvironment, as well as in preventing carcinogenesis. Most of the results have been demonstrated with in vivo models, but results of high-quality clinical trials are not yet available. Unspecified cancer type and staging, fluctuated dose information and variants of targets across studies of berberine/ Coptidis Rhizoma impede their clinical use for cancer treatment.Conclusion: Recent advances highlighted by this review may shed light on future direction of studies featuring Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine as novel antineoplastic agents, which should be repeatedly proven in future animal and clinical studies. Although more evidences on its specificity and clinical efficacy are necessary to support its clinical use, Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine are highly expected to be effective, safe and affordable treatments for cancer patients.
AB - Ethnopharmacological relevance: The antineoplastic property of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine was correlated with its traditional use of clearing internal fire, removing damp-heat and counteracting toxic pathogens.Aim of the study: The anti-tumor effect of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine was extensively studied since our last comprehensive review in 2009. This study aims to summarize the recent updates and give rise to perspectives of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine as potential novel antineoplastic agents.Methods: Quality studies in recent 5 years were retrieved from PubMed, Medline and CNKI with keywords including Coptis, Coptidis Rhizoma, huanglian, berberine, tumor and cancer. Studies were focused on the pharmacological actions of Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine in cancer progression.Results: It was shown that Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine may repress tumor progression by regressing abnormal cell proliferation, arresting cell cycle and inducing cell death. Studies also highlighted the actions of Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine in inhibiting tumor cell invasion and angiogenesis, which in turn abolish cancer metastasis. Some studies have also been conducted to reveal the potential effect of Coptidis Rhizoma extract and berberine in regulating tumor stromal microenvironment, as well as in preventing carcinogenesis. Most of the results have been demonstrated with in vivo models, but results of high-quality clinical trials are not yet available. Unspecified cancer type and staging, fluctuated dose information and variants of targets across studies of berberine/ Coptidis Rhizoma impede their clinical use for cancer treatment.Conclusion: Recent advances highlighted by this review may shed light on future direction of studies featuring Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine as novel antineoplastic agents, which should be repeatedly proven in future animal and clinical studies. Although more evidences on its specificity and clinical efficacy are necessary to support its clinical use, Coptidis Rhizoma and berberine are highly expected to be effective, safe and affordable treatments for cancer patients.
KW - Berberine
KW - Cancer
KW - Chemoprevention
KW - Coptidis Rhizoma
KW - Growth inhibition
KW - Metastasis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945971281&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2015.10.028
DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2015.10.028
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26494507
AN - SCOPUS:84945971281
SN - 0378-8741
VL - 176
SP - 35
EP - 48
JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
ER -
