title: Berberine, an epiphany against cancer.
abstract: Alkaloids are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases. These compounds are synthesized in plants as secondary metabolites and have multiple effects on cellular metabolism. Among plant derivatives with biological properties, the isoquinoline quaternary alkaloid berberine possesses a broad range of therapeutic uses against several diseases. In recent years, berberine has been reported to inhibit cell proliferation and to be cytotoxic towards cancer cells. Based on this evidence, many derivatives have been synthesized to improve berberine efficiency and selectivity; the results so far obtained on human cancer cell lines support the idea that they could be promising agents for cancer treatment. The main properties of berberine and derivatives will be illustrated.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Genetica Molecolare CNR, Via Abbiategrasso 207, Pavia 27100, Italy. lmguaman@utpl.edu.ec.
authors.forename: Luis Miguel Guamán
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Naxospharma, Via Giuseppe di Vittorio 70, Novate Milanese 20026, Italy. p.lombardi@naxospharma.eu.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Genetica Molecolare CNR, Via Abbiategrasso 207, Pavia 27100, Italy. tillhon@igm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Micol
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tillhon
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Genetica Molecolare CNR, Via Abbiategrasso 207, Pavia 27100, Italy. scovassi@igm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Anna Ivana
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Scovassi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001599:Berberine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D001599:Berberine