Skip to main content
. 2022 Mar 29;30(3):1063–1077. doi: 10.1007/s10787-022-00976-2

Table 1.

Characteristics of included studies

Study Population Sample size (C/E) Age (years) Intervention Duration Presented data
C E C E
Liu and Hu (2008) Type 2 diabetes 30/30 53.07 ± 8.51 52.00 ± 9.81 Metformin 1.5 g/d Metformin + berberine 0.9–1.5 g/d 8 weeks CRP
Xu et al. (2008) Diabetic nephropathy 40/40 51 ± 3.5a 51 ± 3.5a Pioglitazone 30 mg/d Pioglitazone + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks CRP
Zhang et al. (2008) Type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia 58/52 N/A 51 ± 10 Placebo Berberine 1.0 g/d 3 months CRP, IL-6
Liu et al. (2010) Type 2 diabetes 20/20 59.40 ± 15.40 62.80 ± 12.20 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
20/20 64.45 ± 14.40 Basic treatmentsb + Rosiglitazone 4 mg/d
Sheng and Xie (2010) Type 2 diabetes 30/30 51 ± 8 52 ± 11 Glipizide 10 mg/d + metformin 1.5 g/d Glipizide + metformin + berberine 1.5 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6
Zhang et al. (2010) Acute coronary syndromes 20/20 61.42 ± 8.60a 61.42 ± 8.60a Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 30 days CRP
Zhu (2010) Diabetic nephropathy 48/44 66.69 ± 8.32 65.71 ± 8.41 Irbesartan 0.15 g/d Irbesartan + berberine 1.2 g/d 12 weeks CRP, TNF-α
Meng et al. (2011) Type 2 diabetes 30/30 53 ± 13.9 51 ± 13.3 Insulin Insulin + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks TNF-α, IL-6
Xiang et al. (2011) Type 2 diabetes 20/20 N/A N/A Placebo Berberine 1.2 g/d 12 weeks CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
20/20 N/A Aspirin 0.1 g/d
Zhou and Huang (2011) Hyperlipidemia 60/60 N/A N/A No treatment Berberine 0.9 g/d 4 months CRP
Deng et al. (2012) Polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance 28/31 26.75 ± 2.62 25.74 ± 2.66 Ethinylestradiol cyproterone 2 mg: 0.035 mg/d + placebo Ethinylestradiol cyproterone + berberine 0.9 g/d 3 menstrual cycles CRP, TNF-α
Dou et al. (2012) Obesity 60/58 47.68 ± 8.40 48.42 ± 8.60 Vitamin C 0.9 g/d Berberine 0.9 g/d 4 weeks CRP
Liu and Wang (2012) Ischemic heart disease and heart failure 44/50 69.6 ± 8.2 67.5 ± 10.3 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 8 weeks TNF-α
Yu et al. (2012) Type 2 diabetes 24/24 45.6 ± 5.4a 45.6 ± 5.4a Glibenclamide 5 mg/d Exenatide 5 μg/d + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks CRP
Zhou and Huang (2012) Obesity and type 2 diabetes 46/46 46.67 ± 8.52a 46.67 ± 8.52a Metformin 1.5 g/d Metformin + berberine 0.6 g/d 12 weeks CRP
Shu (2014) Type 2 diabetes 32/32 61.21 ± 13.52 62.80 ± 12.20 Insulin Insulin + berberine 0.9 g/d 24 weeks CRP
Zhang et al. (2014) Cerebral infarction 30/30 54.1 ± 4.6 55.6 ± 5.2 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + atorvastatin + berberine 0.4 g/d 4 weeks CRP
30/30 54.3 ± 4.9 Basic treatmentsb + atorvastatin 40 mg/d
Dai et al. (2015) Hypertension and type 2 diabetes 33/39 53.06 ± 10.36 55.31 ± 11.79 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.3 g/d 2 years CRP
Chen et al. (2015) Coronary artery disease and hypercholesteremia 40/40 51.5 ± 10.4 52.1 ± 9.8 Simvastatin 20 mg/d Simvastatin 10 mg/d + berberine 0.5 g/d 1 month CRP
Zhan et al. (2015) Type 2 diabetes with hyperlipidemia 40/40 51.6 ± 3.8a 51.6 ± 3.8a Basic treatmentsb + metformin 1.5 g/d Basic treatmentsb + metformin + berberine 0.6 g/d 3 months CRP
Zhu et al. (2015) Acute ischemic stroke 28/16 66.25 ± 8.83 63.31 ± 8.10 Atorvastatin 20 mg/d + aspirin 0.1 g/d Atorvastatin 20 mg/d + aspirin + berberine 0.4 g/d 3 months CRP
11/16 66.45 ± 8.86 Atorvastatin 40 mg/d + aspirin 0.1 g/d
Li et al. (2016) Insulin resistance with schizophrenia 33/31 40.18 ± 12.21 40.14 ± 9.40 Risperidone 3.85 ± 0.94 mg/d + placebo Risperidone 3.77 ± 0.85 mg/d + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6
Sun (2016) Obesity and type 2 diabetes 48/48 52.37 ± 4.48 52.32 ± 4.45 Sitagliptin 0.1 g/d Sitagliptin + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks CRP, IL-6
Wang (2016) Type 2 diabetes 25/25 N/A N/A Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.3 g/d 3 months CRP, IL-6
Zhou et al. (2016) Obesity and type 2 diabetes 30/30 55.6 ± 12.7 56.4 ± 10.9 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.6 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Chen et al. (2017) Metabolic syndrome with renal damage 10/10 40.20 ± 5.89 38.70 ± 10.3 Losartan 0.1 g/d Losartan + berberine 0.9 g/d 8 weeks TNF-α
Dong et al. (2017) Type 2 diabetes 49/49 51.34 ± 4.43 52.23 ± 4.41 Metformin 1.5 g/d Metformin + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Li (2017a) Metabolic syndrome with schizophrenia 42/40 42.14 ± 11.61 41.86 ± 10.22 Olanzapine + metformin 0.75 g/d Olanzapine + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 weeks TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6
Li (2017b) Obesity and type 2 diabetes 30/30 51.24 ± 3.91 50.54 ± 3.78 Sitagliptin 0.1 g/d Sitagliptin + berberine 0.9 g/d 3 months CRP, IL-6
Li (2017c) Acute cerebral ischemic stroke 60/60 61.94 ± 3.77 62.84 ± 4.67 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 14 days CRP, IL-6
Sun (2017) Type 2 diabetes 91/91 58.34 ± 11.21 58.95 ± 10.57 Metformin 1.5 g/d Metformin + berberine 0.09 g/d 8 weeks CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Yuan et al. (2017) Type 2 diabetes 41/41 65.78 ± 8.96 66.13 ± 9.06 Glimepiride 1 mg/d Glimepiride + Gegen Qinlian Decoction + berberine 0.6 g/d 2 weeks CRP, TNF-α
Bai et al. (2018) Hyperlipidemia 75/75 63.38 ± 7.24 63.29 ± 7.85 Ezetimibe 10 mg/d Ezetimibe + berberine 0.4 g/d 1 month CRP
Du and Zhang (2018) Coronary heart disease 12/18 66 ± 10 60 ± 6 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Fan et al. (2018) Type 2 diabetes 40/40 52.71 ± 7.89 53.27 ± 8.15 Metformin 1.5 g/d Metformin + berberine 1.5 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
He et al. (2018) Diarrhea with hyperlipidemia 62/62 55.16 ± 6.79 56.78 ± 6.74 Basic treatmentsb + levofloxacin 0.5 g/d Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.36 g/d 8 weeks CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
He (2018) Diabetic nephropathy 52/52 56.4 ± 7.3 56.2 ± 7.5 Basic treatmentsb valsartan 80 mg/d Basic treatmentsb + valsartan + berberine 1.2 g/d 12 weeks CRP, TNF-α
Huang et al. (2018) Type 2 diabetes 65/65 67.16 ± 8.54 66.09 ± 8.67 Insulin Insulin + berberine 1.8 g/d 1 month TNF-α
Li and Deng (2018) Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease 53/53 74.68 ± 4.32 74.07 ± 5.16 Polyene phosphatidyl choline 1.368 g/d Polyene phosphatidyl choline + berberine 0.36 g/d 12 weeks TNF-α
Lie et al. (2018a) Polycystic ovary syndrome 38/38 N/A N/A Ethinylestradiol cyproterone 2 mg: 0.035 mg/d + placebo Ethinylestradiol cyproterone + berberine 0.9 g/d 21 days CRP
Lie et al. (2018b) Type 2 diabetes 57/57 57 ± 12 53 ± 15 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 1.2 g/d 6 months CRP
Lu et al. (2018) Acute ischemic cerebral infarction 60/60 60.7 ± 5.2 59.9 ± 6.1 Basic treatmentsb + rosuvastatin 10 mg/d Basic treatmentsb + rosuvastatin + berberine 0.9 g/d N/A CRP
Ning (2018) Acute cerebral infarction 39/39 61.00 ± 1.26 60.00 ± 1.47 Basic treatmentsb + atorvastatin 40 mg/d Basic treatmentsb + atorvastatin + berberine 0.9 g/d 15 days CRP, IL-6
Wang et al. (2018) Metabolic syndrome with renal damage 10/10 35.62 ± 1.43 37.30 ± 1.96 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 8 weeks IL-6
Yang et al. (2018) Symptomatic atherosclerotic intracranial artery stenosis 60/60 61.98 ± 4.09 61.98 ± 4.09 Simvastatin 40 mg/d + aspirin 0.1 g/d Simvastatin + aspirin + berberine 1.2 g/d 6 months CRP
Cao and Su (2019) Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance 40/40 65.6 ± 1.8 65.5 ± 1.8 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 1.2 g/d 1 month CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Lai et al. (2019) Polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance 48/48 28.48 ± 6.34 29.53 ± 5.21 Metformin 1 g/d Peikun pills 18 g/d + berberine 0.9 g/d 3 months CRP, TNF-α, IL-6
Lan et al. (2019) Hypertensive atherosclerosis 40/40 63.3 ± 6.2 64.2 ± 5.5 Basic treatmentsb Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 8 weeks TNF-α, IL-6
40/40 65.1 ± 5.0 Basic treatments + berberine 1.8 g/d
Xie and Huang (2019) Diabetic nephropathy 53/53 61.3 ± 1.2 62.1 ± 1.6 Basic treatmentsb + tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides 60 mg/d Basic treatmentsb + tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides + berberine 1.5 g/d 90 days TNF-α, IL-6
Yang and Yin (2019) Coronary heart disease 30/40 61.37 ± 8.79 60.63 ± 8.53 Basic treatmentsb + rosuvastatin 10 mg/d Basic treatmentsb + berberine 0.9 g/d 4 weeks CRP, TNF-α
Ye and You (2019) Acute ischemic cerebral infarction 33/33 56.65 ± 7.12 57.36 ± 6.79 Rosuvastatin 10 mg/d Rosuvastatin + berberine 0.9 g/d 12 days CRP, IL-6
Yang et al. (2020) Type 2 diabetes 96/96 49.7 ± 7.4 49.9 ± 7.8 Metformin 2 g/d Metformin + berberine 1.5 g/d 3 months TNF-α, IL-6

N/A The date was not reported, CRP C-reactive protein, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6 interleukin-6, IL-1β interleukin-1 beta, C control group, E experimental group, X g/d X g daily

aOnly demographic characteristics of the total sample population were reported

bDifferent patients used different drugs for basic treatments