title: Cardiovascular and metabolic effects of Berberine.
abstract: Berberine (BBR) is a natural alkaloid isolated from the Coptis Chinensis. While this plant has been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for more than 2500 years, interest in its effects in metabolic and cardiovascular disease has been growing in the Western world in the last decade. Many papers have been published in these years reporting beneficial effects in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, endothelial function and the cardiovascular system. In this review, we report a detailed analysis of the scientific literature regarding this topic, describing the effects and the underlying mechanisms of BBR on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, endothelial function and the cardiovascular system.
authors.affiliation: Flora Affuso, Valentina Mercurio, Valeria Fazio, Serafino Fazio, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular and Immunologic Sciences, University of Naples Federico II School of Medicine, Via S. Pansini, 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Affuso
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mercurio
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: Serafino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fazio