Table 1.
A summary of findings from systematic reviews on the antihyperglycemic effects of berberine.
| Outcomes | Study ID |
Study Year |
Number of RCTs |
Number of cases |
Results | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPG/PPG/HbA1c/FINS/TG/TC/LDL-C/HDL-C | Dong et al. [13] | 2012 | 4 | 271 | Compared with lifestyle changes with or without placebo, berberine plus lifestyle changes showed significantly better hypoglycaemic and antidyslipidemic effects. | Trials had poor methodological and reporting quality. The conclusions made were inconclusive and further research is needed. |
| FPG/HbA1c/TC/LDL-C | Dong et al. [13] | 2012 | 7 | 448 | Compared with oral hypoglycaemics (metformin, glipizide, or rosiglitazone) berberine did not demonstrate significantly better hypoglycaemic effects but showed mild antidyslipidemic effects. | |
| FPG/PPG/HbA1c/FINS/TG/TC/LDL-C/HDL-C | Dong et al. [13] | 2012 | 6 | 396 | Compared with oral hypoglycaemic drugs, berberine combined with the same oral hypoglycaemics can better control blood sugar in the patients. | |
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| FBG/2hPBG/HbA1c/LDL-C/HDL-C/TG/TC/BMI | Narenqimuge et al. [14] | 2012 | 10 | 647 | Berberine was effective in lowering FBG but not better than metformin, glipizide, or rosiglitazone. Berberine had no proven effects in decreasing PBG, HbAlc, or BMI and in regulating lipid metabolism. | Trials were at high risk of bias. High-quality trials are needed. |
|
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| Adverse events | Dong et al. [13] | 2012 | 14 | 1068 | Three studies did not report AEs. Three reported no AEs. Three reported adverse events but did not indicate the group in which they occurred. Five reported AEs in the berberine group. | No significant difference between the treatment and the control group. |
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| Adverse events | Narenqimuge et al. [14] | 2012 | 7 | 435 | Seven studies reported that AEs happened in the course of the treatment, mostly gastrointestinal reactions such as constipation and diarrhea. Of them 3 studies reported the number of cases of AEs. | No significant difference between the treatment and the control group. |
FPG: fasting blood glucose; PPG: postprandial plasma glucose; HbA1c: hemoglobin A1c; TG: triglyceride; TC: total cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein; FINS: fasting insulin; 2hPBG: 2-hour postprandial blood glucose; BMI: body mass index; AEs: adverse events.