Pharmacognosy Research Laboratories & Herbal Analysis Services UK, University of Greenwich, Chatham-Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK.
Pharmacol Res. 2020 May;155:104722. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104722. Epub 2020 Feb 24.
Berberine is a natural pentacyclic isoquinoline alkaloid that has been isolated as the principal component of many popular medicinal plants such as the genus Berberis, Coptis and Hydrastis. The multifunctional nature of berberine as a therapeutic agent is an attribute of its diverse effects on enzymes, receptors and cell signalling pathways. Through specific and general antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, its polypharmacology has been established. Intriguingly, this is despite the poor bioavailability of berberine in animal models and hence begging the question how it induces its reputed effects in vivo. A growing evidence now suggest the role of the gut microbiota, the so-called the hidden organ, as targets for the multifunctional role of berberine. Evidences are herein scrutinised to show that the structural and numerical changes in the gut microbiota under pathological conditions are reversed by berberine. Examples in the pharmacokinetics field, obesity, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, cancer, inflammatory disease conditions, etc. are used to show the link between the gut microbiota and the polypharmacology of berberine.
小檗碱是一种天然的五环异喹啉生物碱，已从许多常用药用植物如小檗属、黄连属和白毛茛属中分离出来作为主要成分。小檗碱作为治疗剂的多功能性质是其对酶、受体和细胞信号通路的多种作用的属性。通过特定和一般的抗氧化和抗炎机制，其多药理学已经建立。有趣的是，尽管小檗碱在动物模型中的生物利用度较差，但它如何在体内引起其所谓的作用仍存在疑问。越来越多的证据表明，肠道微生物群，即所谓的隐藏器官，是小檗碱多功能作用的靶点。本文通过证据来证明，在病理条件下，肠道微生物群的结构和数量变化可以被小檗碱逆转。在药代动力学领域的肥胖症、高脂血症、糖尿病、癌症、炎症性疾病等方面的例子，都表明了肠道微生物群与小檗碱的多药理学之间的联系。
