Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Review Article | OPEN ACCESS

An overview of the hypolipidemic effect of Genus Berberis

María Cristina Furrianca^1,2,3,4 , Veronica Ulloa^2,3, Héctor Sandoval⁵, Hector Retamal-Matus^2,3,6, Alejandra Fernández-Elgueta^2,3,6, Juan Carlos Borquez^2,3,6,7

¹Departamento de Enfermería; ²Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud; ³Universidad de Magallanes– UMAG; ⁴Centro Interuniversitario de Envejecimiento Saludable – CIES; ⁵Ingeniero Forestal, Experto en Análisis Espacial y Medio Ambiente; ⁶Departamento de Kinesiología; ⁷Laboratorio de Investigación en Nutrición y Actividad Física (LABINAF), Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos (INTA), Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

For correspondence:- María Furrianca Email: maria.furrianca@umag.cl

Received: 17 May 2024 Accepted: 2 November 2024 Published: 30 November 2024

Citation: Furrianca MC, Ulloa V, Sandoval H, Retamal-Matus H, Fernández-Elgueta A, Borquez JC. An overview of the hypolipidemic effect of Genus Berberis. Trop J Pharm Res 2024; 23(11):1939-1947 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v23i11.19

© 2024 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is a chronic disease characterized by elevated blood lipid levels treatable with statins. However, long-term statin use may have adverse effects, such as liver damage and memory loss. Nevertheless, plants and their active compounds effectively and safely improve lipid profiles. This review aims to update information on the genus Berberis as a hypolipidemic agent, assess the effects of these extracts on organisms and provide evidence supporting the use of these natural products in pharmaceutical drugs. Berberis species with therapeutic potential include B. vulgaris, B. integerrima, B. aristata, B. lycium, B. orthobotrys, and B. calliobotrys, which have shown promising results in reducing lipid levels in humans and other animals. In addition, combining berberine with nutraceuticals may improve its intestinal absorption, enhancing its lipid-lowering effect. Herbal medicine studies suggest that Berberis has a high potential for the management of hyperlipidemia.

Keywords: Lipid profile, Hypolipidemic, Dyslipidemia, Cholesterol, Plant extracts, Traditional uses, Berberis