Min Li^*†, Mao Zhang^*, Zhi-lang Zhang^*, Ning Liu^*, Xiao-yu Han^*, Qin-cheng Liu^*, Wei-jun Deng^†, Cai-xian Liao^*

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 233-239, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14742891049073

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly resistant to traditional chemotherapeutic approaches, which causes difficulty in the development of effective drugs for the treatment of HCC. Berberine, a major ingredient of Rhizoma coptidis, is a natural alkaloid used in traditional Chinese medicine. Berberine exhibits potent antitumor activity against HCC due to its high efficiency and low toxicity. In the present study, we found that berberine sensitized HepG cells to NF-kB-mediated apoptosis. Berberine exhibited a significant antiproliferation effect on the HepG2 cells and promoted apoptosis. Both qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining revealed that berberine reduced the NF-kB p65 levels in More >

MENGMENG LIU^1,#, YUE PAN^1,2,#, XUFENG TAO¹, WENLI KANG¹, YINGJIE LIU¹, YONGJIE YANG^3,4,*, GARY GUISHAN XIAO^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.10, pp. 2257-2265, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.020325

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is universally acknowledged as the cancer with the highest mortality rate. Berberine has high medicinal value and has been used as an anti-cancer agent. Hence the purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer effect of berberine in PDAC. Berberine was shown to have a selective anti-cancer effect on PDAC by MTT assay in vitro. Pancreatic cancer stem cells (PCSCs), regulated by epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), could promote the proliferation of PDAC cells. However, berberine suppressed the proliferation and stemness of PCSCs through immunofluorescence staining, stem cell sphere assays and so forth in More >

Jingyuan Yang¹, Jie Zhou¹, Jiaojiao Jin¹, Yi Li², Xia Zhang³, Teng Li³, Mengdi Zhang³, Xiaodong Cai³, Chaodong Yang³, Cunyu Zhou^3,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.6, pp. 1685-1696, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.015533

Abstract Huanglian (Coptis chinensis Franch.) is a slow-growing perennial medicinal herb with considerable economic value. This study aimed to determine the structural characteristics and the levels of berberine deposits in the organs and tissues of Huanglian using light and epifluorescence microscopy. The adventitious roots are composed of primary and secondary structures with endodermis, exodermis, and phellem. The rhizome structures are composed of primary and secondary structures with cuticle and phellem. The leaves are composed of sclerenchymatous rings, isolateral mesophyll, and thin cuticles. We detected berberine in the xylem walls of the roots and rhizomes as well as More >

LI-NA XU^1#, BI-NAN LU^2#, MING-MING HU¹, YOU-WEI XU¹, XU HAN¹, YAN QI¹, JIN-YONG PENG^1,3*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 113-120, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.113

Abstract Berberine, a constituent of some traditional Chinese medicinal plants, has been reported to have cytotoxicity effects on different human cancer cell lines. There is no available information about the effects and mechanism of action of berberine on human colon cancer cell line HCT-8. In this paper, the cytotoxicity of berberine on HCT-8 cancer cells was investigated by MTT assay, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Our data revealed that berberine could significantly inhibit the growth of HCT-8 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Morphology of apoptotic cells was studied with acridine orange/ ethidium bromide… More >