Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies
| Study | Country | Sample size(T/C) | Sex (M/F) | Age (mean, range) | Diagnostic criteria | Intervention of experimental group | Intervention of control group | Dose of berberine | Duration (weeks) | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhao et al. (2022) | China | 80 (40/40) | 50/30 |
T: 46.57 (33–70) C: 46.85 (35–72) |
I | Berberine + metformin | Metformin | 0.2 g tid | 12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 |
| Hu et al. (2021) | China | 118 (58/60) | 64/54 |
T: 42.85 (31–54) C: 43.21 (30–56) |
I | Berberine + metformin | Placebo + metformin | 0.5 g tid | 24 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| Han (2017) | China | 100 (50/50) | 49/51 |
T: 69.8 (66–82) C: 69.5 (65–80) |
I | Berberine + metformin | Metformin | 0.2 g–0.4 g tid | 8 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 16 |
| Cao et al. (2012) | China | 78 (40/38) | 46/32 |
T: 52.23 (29–69) C: 51.26 (33–67) |
II | Berberine + metformin | Metformin | 0.5 g tid | 16 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17, 18 |
| Bai et al. (2011) | China | 68 (38/30) | 39/29 |
T: 56.6 (35–79) C: 56.1 (32–82) |
II | Berberine | LSI | 0.5 g tid | 12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 16, 18 |
| Stephen et al. (2021) | England | 87 [32/29 (0.5 g bid)/26 (1 g bid)] | NR |
T: 58 (40–75) C (0.5 g bid): 58 (26–75) C (1 g bid): 53 (27–72) |
NR | Berberine | Placebo | 0.5 g bid/1 g bid | 18 | 2, 3, 5, 17, 18 |
| Lida et al. (2022) | Iran | 48 (24/24) | 36/12 |
T: 42.2 (NR) C: 40.6 (NR) |
NR | Berberine | LSI | 6.35 g/day | 7 | 1, 2, 10, 17, 18 |
| Yan et al. (2015) | China | 108 (53/55) | NR |
T: 50.64 (NR) C: 50.72 (NR) |
NR | LSI + berberine | LSI | 0.5 g tid | 16 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 16, 17, 18 |
| Cui (2016) | China | 80 (40/40) | 58/22 |
T: 51.59 (37–65) C: 50.85 (39–62) |
I | Berberine + metformin | Metformin | 0.5 g tid | 16 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| Ning et al. (2013) | China | 44 (22/22) | 24/20 |
T: NR (35–70) C: NR (35–70) |
I | Berberine + metformin | Metformin | 0.5 g tid | 16 | 1, 2, 6, 7 |
T: treatment group; C: control group; M: male; F: female; NR: not reported; LSI: lifestyle intervention; Tid: ter in die; Bid: bis in die; W: week; I: guidelines for management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an updated and revised edition (revised in 2010); II: guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (revised in 2006) 1: total cholesterol; 2: triglycerides; 3: glutamyl transpeptidase; 4: aspartate transaminase; 5: alanine transaminase; 6: fasting blood glucose; 7: glycated hemoglobin; 8: glycated hemoglobin; 9: Controlled attenuation parameters of the liver; 10: body mass index; 11: percentage of body fat; 12: interleukin-17; 13: human transforming growth factor-β; 14: waist hip rate; 15: visceral fat area; 16: homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; 17: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; 18: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol