Liu Da, Meng Xue, Wu Donglu, Qiu Zhidong, Luo Haoming
Department of Pharmacy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
Key Laboratory of Effective Components of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2019 Feb 14;10:9. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2019.00009. eCollection 2019.
Coptis, a traditional medicinal plant, has been used widely in the field of traditional Chinese medicine for many years. More recently, the chemical composition and bioactivity of Coptis have been studied worldwide. Berberine is a main component of Rhizoma Coptidis. Modern medicine has confirmed that berberine has pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, and blood pressure-lowering effects. Importantly, the active ingredient of berberine has clear inhibitory effects on various cancers, including colorectal cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, and cervical cancer. Cancer, ranked as one of the world's five major incurable diseases by WHO, is a serious threat to the quality of human life. Here, we try to outline how berberine exerts antitumor effects through the regulation of different molecular pathways. In addition, the berberine-mediated regulation of epigenetic mechanisms that may be associated with the prevention of malignant tumors is described. Thus, this review provides a theoretical basis for the biological functions of berberine and its further use in the clinical treatment of cancer.
黄连是一种传统药用植物，多年来一直在中医领域广泛应用。最近，黄连的化学成分和生物活性在全球范围内得到了研究。小檗碱是黄连的主要成分。现代医学已证实小檗碱具有药理活性，如抗炎、镇痛、抗菌、降血脂和降血压作用。重要的是，小檗碱的活性成分对包括结直肠癌、肺癌、卵巢癌、前列腺癌、肝癌和宫颈癌在内的各种癌症具有明显的抑制作用。癌症被世界卫生组织列为世界五大不治之症之一，严重威胁着人类的生活质量。在此，我们试图概述小檗碱如何通过调节不同的分子途径发挥抗肿瘤作用。此外，还描述了小檗碱介导的可能与预防恶性肿瘤相关的表观遗传机制调节。因此，本综述为小檗碱的生物学功能及其在癌症临床治疗中的进一步应用提供了理论依据。
