Berberine's cancer-inhibiting properties.

Berberine is a natural compound found in various plant, including goldenseal, barberry, and Oregon grape. 

It has been shown to have anti-cancer properties by modulating several cancer-related signaling pathways. These include the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, MAPK/ERK, Wnt/β-catenin {ref|ref}, and NF-κB pathways. 

• inhibition of NF-kB
• HDAC modulation
• Cox-2 inhibition
• Suppresses HIF-1α
• PD-L1 ⏷
• Suppression of 5α-Reductase: 5α-Reductase is an enzyme that converts testosterone into the more potent androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
• OXPHOS inhibitor
• Berberine Suppresses Glutamine Uptake by Inhibiting SLC1A5
• LDHA inhibition

Synergies

→ Emodin {ref}

→ Curcumin

→ Galangin

→ D-limonene

→ Evodiamine

→ Sanguinarine

→ Caffeine

→ Andrographis

→ Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins (OPC)

→ Zinc

→ Honokiol

→ Tamoxifen

→ Coptidis Rhizoma {ref}

Caution

•  Hormetic Effect of Berberine Attenuates the Anticancer Activity of Chemotherapeutic Agents {ref}
• Berberine impairs hepatic ammonia detoxification.{ref}

References & Sources

• Berberine Induces Autophagic Cell Death in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by Inactivating AKT/mTORC1 Signaling
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.00773/full
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342024248_Nano-based_delivery_systems_for_berberine_A_modern_anti-cancer_herbal_medicine
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257807360_Berberine_Decreases_Cell_Growth_but_Increases_the_Side_Population_Fraction_of_H460_Lung_Cancer_Cells
• https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b04453
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33354502/
• Toxicological Effects of Berberine and Sanguinarine
• Berberine Suppresses Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Expression in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells
• Berberine activates caspase-9/cytochrome c-mediated apoptosis to suppress triple-negative breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo {study}
• Berberine Inhibits MDA-MB-231 Cells by Attenuating Their Inflammatory Responses {ref} "our results demonstrated that berberine inhibited the increased phosphorylation of c-Jun and c-Fos in these scratched cancer cells. With the cotreatment with LPS, which could boost the expression of cytokines in these cancer cells, berberine significantly reduced the increased expression of TNF-α and IL-6. Meanwhile, we found that berberine inhibited the activation of NF-κB by preventing the degradation of IκBα."