Table 2.
The effect of Berberis vulgaris or berberine on normal and cancer cell line under in vitro conditions
| Type | Dose | Toxic responses | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | HL-7702 | Berberine: 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µM | No changes in cell viability (IC50: 838.4 µM) | (57) |
| HUVEC cells | Berberine: 40µM | Decreased the cell viability by 87.6% The cell invasion decreased significantly | (59) | |
| L929 | Berberine: 2.5-200 µg/mL | Did not show any cytotoxic effects (at 2.5 µg/ml to 25 µg/ml) The morphology of cells changed, intracellular ROS formation increased, apoptotic cell death induced (at higher than 100 µg/ml) and cell viability decreased (at 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml) | (63) | |
| Gingival fibroblast HGF, pulp cell HPC, periodontal ligament fibroblast HPLF | Berberine iodide and acetoneberberine: 10, 20 and 80 µM | Tumor-specific cytotoxic effect of berberine iodide and acetoneberberine that LC50 values in HGF, HPC and HPLF were >400, 293; 235, 219; and 245, 189 µM, respectively | (65) | |
| HEK293 | Berberine: 0-100 µM | Did not show any growth inhibitory effect | (66) | |
| Normal human prostate epithelial PWR-1E cells | Berberine: 5-50µ M | NO growth inhibition in normal prostate cells observed | (67) | |
| L929 | Berberine hydrochloride: 10-100 µg/ml | In a concentration-dependent manner berberine induced cytotoxic effects (IC50: 40 µg/ml) | (68) | |
| Cancerous | CNE-1 | Berberine hydrochloride: 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 µg/ml | Decreased Cell viability Activated caspase-3, decreased twist protein levels and increased apoptotic proteins Inhibited migration and invasion of cells | (56) |
| HepG2, SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402 | Berberine: 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µM | Decreased the cell viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner (the IC50 value in HepG2, SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402: 34.5 µM, 25.2 µM and 53.6 µM, respectively) | (57) | |
| MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 | Berberine: 10– 100 µM | Dose- and time dependent inhibitory effect Increased apoptotic ratio, caspase-3 activity and alteration in cell morphology Increased the ROS generation and accumulation | (58) | |
| CsSki, SiHa, and HeLa | Berberine: 20µM | In a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the invasion of CsSki, HeLa and SiHa cells Inhibited the migration of CsSki, SiHa, and HeLa cells Decreased the SiHa cell motility | (59) | |
| LNCaP and PC-82 | Berberine: 1-100 µM | Dose-dependently decreased the cell viability and induced programmed necrosis and apoptosis | (61) | |
| EAC | Berberine: 10, 50 and 100 µg/ml | Increased apoptotic cells (at 10 µg/ml) Inhibited DNA synthesis, changed the morphology of dsDNA and induced cell death (at 50 and 100 µg/ml) (IC50: below 1µg/ml) | (62) | |
| C6 rat glioma | Berberine: 100µM | In a time- and dose-dependent manner, altered the cell morphology, promoted the caspase-3, -8 and -9 activity, increased the production of ROS and induced apoptotic cell death | (64) | |
| Human oral squamous cell carcinoma: HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4, NA, CA9-22 and human promyelocytic leukemia: HL-60 | Berberine iodide and acetoneberberine: 10, 20 and 80 µM | Increased apoptotic cells, DNA fragmentation, caspase-3, -8 and -9 and pro-apoptotic BAD protein. (did not elevate BAD protein in HSC-2 cells) IC50 for Berberine iodide and acetoneberberine, in sequence: HL-60 (18, 22 µM), HSC-2 (59, 65 µM), HSC-3 (83, 47 µM), HSC-4 (54, 69 µM) and NA (88, 53 µM) and CA 9-22 cells (136, 132 µM) | (65) | |
| HCT116, SW480 and LOVO colorectal carcinoma cells | Berberine: 0-100 µM for 24, 48 and 72 hr | In a concentration- and time-dependent manner, inhibited the growth of cancer cells via programmed death | (66) | |
| Human prostate cancer LNCaP cells, PC-3 cells | Berberine: 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 µM | Inhibited cell growth and proliferation in cancer cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (IC50 value in LNCap cells: 60µM and in PC-3 cells: ≥100µM) Induced apoptotic cell death | (67) | |
| DLA | Berberine hydrochloride: 100- 1000 mg/ml | Berberine showed cytotoxic effect by 44% at 1 mg/ml At lower concentrations, it caused a dose-dependent cytotoxicity in DLA cells | (68) | |
| A549 | Berberine:2.5-40 µM | Did not show cytotoxic effect on the cells (up to 24 hr) Showed slight cytotoxicity after 48 hr (20 and 40 µM) | (69) | |
| Human esophageal cancer cell line YES-2 | Berberine: 8-32 µM | Reduced cell viability and proliferation, inhibited production of interleukin-6 dose- and time- dependently | (70) | |
| Oral cancer cell line OC2 and KB cells | Berberine: 1, 10, and 100 µM for 2-12 hr | Inhibited activator protein 1, reduced the production of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and showed anti-inflammatory effect Berberine did not show irritation of stomach and kidney toxicity | (71) | |
| K1735-M2 Mouse Melanoma Cells | Berberine: 0, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µM | Dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effect on cell proliferation (50% of growth inhibition occurred for 72 and 96 hr since drug exposure) | (72) | |