Effect of Berberine Hydrochloride on the Diversity of Intestinal Flora in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of berberine hydrochloride on the diversity of intestinal flora in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Prospectively selected 68 PD patients, admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to June 2021, were randomly assigned to an observation group and a control group (n = 34 per group). Patients in the control group were given conventional treatment in accordance with Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment guidelines. Patients in the observation group were administered berberine hydrochloride besides the treatment in the control group. After continuous treatment for 3 months, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to determine interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. High-throughput sequencing technology was employed to perform DNA sequencing on the 16S rRNA genes of all bacteria in stool samples before and after treatment in the two groups to analyze the distribution of intestinal flora. After treatment, the levels of IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-α were lower in the observation group than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). Regarding intestinal flora, the Chao index, Ace index, and Shannon index were higher in the observation group than those in the control group. The Simpson index was lower in the observation group than that of the control group ( P < 0.05). The principal component analysis chart analysis exhibited that the overall structure of the intestinal flora was quite different between the observation and the control groups after treatment. Berberine hydrochloride can improve the disorder of intestinal flora in PD patients and suppress the expression of inflammatory factors.

Effects of berberine and barberry on selected inflammatory biomarkers in adults: A systematic review and dose–response meta‐analysis of randomized clinical trials

“…The characteristics of 18 clinical trials included in the present systematic review and meta‐analysis are depicted in Table 1. These articles were published between 2008 and 2022 (Cao & Su, 2019; Dai et al, 2015; Dong et al, 2017; Emamat et al, 2022; Fei‐qi et al, 2015; Golzarand et al, 2008; Khorshidi‐Sedehi et al, 2021; Li et al, 2016; Li et al, 2018; Li, Meng, et al, 2022a; Li, Qiu, et al, 2022b; Meng et al, 2012; Pei et al, 2019; Sun, 2017; Xu et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2008; Zhang et al, 2022; Zilaee et al, 2014) and were from Iran (Emamat et al, 2022; Golzarand et al, 2008; Khorshidi‐Sedehi et al, 2021; Zilaee et al, 2014) and China (Cao & Su, 2019; Dai et al, 2015; Dong et al, 2017; Fei‐qi et al, 2015; Li et al, 2016; Li et al, 2018; Li, Meng, et al, 2022a; Li, Qiu, et al, 2022b; Meng et al, 2012; Pei et al, 2019; Sun, 2017; Xu et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2008; Zhang et al, 2022). All study was conducted on both male and female genders.…”

“…These trials involved 1600 volunteers, 810 individuals in the intervention group, and 790 in the control group. All included trials were designed as parallel studies which involved patients with T2DM (Dai et al, 2015; Dong et al, 2017; Golzarand et al, 2008; Li et al, 2018; Sun, 2017; Zhang et al, 2008), MetS (Cao & Su, 2019; Zilaee et al, 2014), stroke (Fei‐qi et al, 2015; Li et al, 2016), coronary syndrome (Meng et al, 2012), atherosclerosis (Pei et al, 2019), UC (Xu et al, 2020), RA (Khorshidi‐Sedehi et al, 2021), hypertension (Emamat et al, 2022), schizophrenia (Li, Qiu, et al, 2022b), Parkinson's disease (Li, Meng, et al, 2022a), and Patients under coronary artery bypass grafting (Zhang et al, 2022). The duration of the studies was from 1 to 48 weeks.…”

“…Berberine and barberry have great potential for application in managing inflammatory disorders because prices are lower than many other drugs (Patel, 2021). Research on the inflammatory impact of berberine and barberry has revealed inconclusive results (Cao & Su, 2019; Dai et al, 2015; Dong et al, 2017; Emamat et al, 2022; Fei‐qi et al, 2015; Golzarand et al, 2008; Khorshidi‐Sedehi et al, 2021; Li, Meng, et al, 2022a; Li et al, 2022; Li et al, 2016; Li et al, 2018; Meng et al, 2012; Pei et al, 2019; Sun, 2017; Xu et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2008; Zilaee et al, 2014). Some clinical trials have demonstrated a significant dropping effect of berberine and barberry supplementation on serum concentrations of IL‐6, TNF‐α, and CRP (Cao & Su, 2019; Dong et al, 2017; Li, Meng et al, 2022), while others did not obtain any significant effect (Emamat et al, 2022; Golzarand et al, 2008; Xu et al, 2020; Zilaee et al, 2014).…”

Illustrating the Effect of Small Molecules Derived from Natural Resources on Amyloid Peptides

“…Berberine, which is extracted from the rhizome of Coptis chinensis , prevents the β-sheet conformation of Aβ 42 , thus impeding its aggregation. Further, berberine’s anti-oxidant and aggregation inhibition properties are increased by its conjugation with catechol and hydroquinone moieties. , The expression of inflammatory factors in PD patients is suppressed by berberine hydrochloride, which also improves the disorder of intestinal flora (related to misfolding of α-syn) . Other isoquinolines are also able to inhibit Aβ aggregation and disaggregate preformed Aβ 40 aggregates in the order chelerythrine > berberine > palmatine.…”

“…2,91 The expression of inflammatory factors in PD patients is suppressed by berberine hydrochloride, which also improves the disorder of intestinal flora (related to misfolding of α-syn). 92 Other isoquinolines are also able to inhibit Aβ aggregation and disaggregate preformed Aβ 40 aggregates in the order chelerythrine > berberine > palmatine. The benzo[c]phenanthridine structure of chelerythrine adds to its higher efficiency in preventing hIAPP oligomerization, compared to berberine and jatrorrhizine.…”