Efficacy of berberine alone and in combination for the treatment of hyperlipidemia: A systematic review
Open accessAbstract
The objective of this review is to identify, summarize, and evaluate clinical trials of berberine for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and other dyslipidemias. A literature search for randomized, controlled trials of berberine that assessed at least 2 lipid values as endpoints resulted in identification of 12 articles that met criteria. The majority of evaluated articles consistently suggest that berberine has a beneficial effect on low-density lipoprotein (reductions ranging from approximately 20 to 50 mg/dL) and triglycerides (reductions ranging from approximately 25 to 55 mg/dL). Common study limitations included lack of reporting of precision in their endpoints, description of blinding, transparency in flow of patients, and reporting of baseline concomitant medications. Berberine could serve as an alternative for patients who are intolerant to statins, patients resistant to starting statin therapy but who are open to alternative treatments, and for low-risk patients not indicated for statin therapy.
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Prior reviews of berberine have limitations including that they included studies that did not make comparisons to placebo, compared berberine to diverse controls, assessed extracts from the barberry plant, or defined the intervention as combination nutraceutical products containing berberine.
“Prior reviews of berberine have several limitations as they included studies that did not make comparisons to placebo, compared berberine to diverse controls (e.g., statins, oral hypoglycemics, lifestyle modification), assessed extracts from the barberry plant or defined the intervention as combination nutraceutical products containing berberine such as Armolipid Plus®.(7-13)”
From Overall and sex-specific effect of berberine for dyslipidemia: systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
The Discussion and Data Synthesis (pages unavailable) show that this review included studies with non-placebo controls and combination products containing berberine, including Armolipid Plus. The cited review does not show that it assessed barberry-plant extracts or used lifestyle modification as a comparator. It also required a separate control group, though that control did not have to be placebo. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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“hypoglycemics, lifestyle modification), assessed extracts from the barberry plant or defined the intervention as combination nutraceutical products containing berberine such as Armolipid Plus®.(7-13) Moreover, the bioavailability of the different berberine preparations is a matter of .”
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- Authors
- Koppen, L. M., Whitaker, A., Rosene, A., & Beckett, R. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University Health System (US)
- Spectrum Health (US)
- Manchester University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Beckett, Robert D.
- Venue
- Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-01-16
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 956-968
- ISSN
- 1076-1675 (ISSN-L)
- 2156-5872
- 2156-5899
- PMC
- PMC5871262
- OpenAlex
- W2577954573
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 0.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Berberine and alkaloids research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Natural Products and Biological Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
- Keywords
- berberine, hyperlipidemia, dyslipidemia, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, statin intolerance, lipid-lowering therapy, combination therapy
- MeSH terms
- Ezetimibe, Berberine, Biological Products, Clinical Trials as Topic, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Humans, Hyperlipidemias, Lipids, Male
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