Inhibitory effect of berberine on the motivational effects of ethanol in mice

Berberis vulgaris and its constituent berberine as antidotes and protective agents against natural or chemical toxicities

Berberis vulgaris L (B. vulgaris) and its main constituent berberine have been used in traditional medicine for a long time. This medicinal plant and berberine have many properties that have attracted the attention of researchers over the time. According to several studies, B. vulgaris and berberine exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, anti-Alzheimer, anti-cancer, anti-arrhythmic, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-diabetic effects in both in vitro and invivo experiments. In regard to many reports on protective effects of B. vulgaris and berberine on natural and chemical toxins, in the current review article, the inhibitory effects of these compounds against natural, industrial, environmental and chemical toxicities with focus on cellular mechanism have been categorized. It has been mentioned that berberine could ameliorate toxicity of chemical toxins in brain, heart, kidney, liver and lung in part through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways.

Berberis Vulgaris and Berberine: An Update Review

Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid present in several plants, including Coptis sp. and Berberis sp. Berberine is a customary component in Chinese medicine, and is characterized by a diversity of pharmacological effects. An extensive search in electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, Wiley, ProQuest, ISI, and Science Direct) were used to identify the pharmacological and clinical studies on Berberis vulgaris and berberine, during 2008 to 2015, using 'berberine' and 'Berberis vulgaris' as search words. We found more than 1200 new article studying the properties and clinical uses of berberine and B. vulgaris, for treating tumor, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, bacterial and viral infections, cerebral ischemia trauma, mental disease, Alzheimer disease, osteoporosis, and so on. In this article, we have updated the pharmacological effects of B. vulgaris and its active constituent, berberine. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Natural Products for the Prevention and Treatment of Hangover and Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits are widely consumed around the world. However, alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are toxic and harmful to human beings. Chronic alcohol use disorder or occasional binge drinking can cause a wide range of health problems, such as hangover, liver damage and cancer. Some natural products such as traditional herbs, fruits, and vegetables might be potential dietary supplements or medicinal products for the prevention and treatment of the problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of effective natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangover and alcohol use disorder, and special emphasis is paid to the possible functional component(s) and related mechanism(s) of action.

Reducing the inhibitory effect of cigarette smoke on the activity of oral peroxidase by the addition of berberine in cigarette filter

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoke (CS) on the activity of oral peroxidase (OPO) after berberine was added to the cigarette filter. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) was chosen to load berberine as a part of the cellulose acetate (CA) filter to obtain the modified B-ACF cigarette filter. Then the effects of CS from the testing cigarettes on the activity of OPO were investigated in vitro by the 2-nitrobenzoic acid assay, and the smoke chemistry was also analyzed, especially the content of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the CS. The results indicated that the loss of activity of OPO in B-ACF filter cigarette group decreased by 20% and 25%, compared with those of ACF and CA filter cigarette groups, respectively. The relative residual activity of OPO in B-ACF filter group was increased with the increase of berberine in the filter compared with the CA filter group. It could be observed that the reduction in HCN might be related to the berberine in the cigarette filter, reducing the inhibition of CS on the activity of OPO.

Acquisition, expression, and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in mice: effects of exposure to stress and modulation by mecamylamine

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors mediate some of the rewarding and motivational effects of ethanol, including relapses. Relapses are common in drug addicts during abstinence when exposure to any stressor ensues. However, the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the ethanol- and stress-induced reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference has not yet been explored. Therefore, the present study investigated the influence of mecamylamine, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptors antagonist on acquisition, expression, and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in adult male Swiss mice. The results revealed that mecamylamine (0.1-10 µg/mouse, intracerebroventricularly) dose dependently prevented the development, expression, and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference. Further, acute treatment with mecamylamine blocked the restraint stress and forced swim stress-induced reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference. All of these treatments had no influence on the locomotor activity. Therefore, it is concluded that mecamylamine blocks the acquisition, expression and reinstatement of conditioned reinforcing effects of ethanol without per se reinforcing or aversive influence. This ability of mecamylamine might be a potential advantage in the treatment of alcoholism.

The Varied Uses of Conditioned Place Preference in Behavioral Neuroscience Research: An Investigation of Alcohol Administration in Model Organisms

Place conditioning procedures have been used to study human addiction to alcohol for the past several years. This experimental resource has been utilized successfully due to the fact that investigators can carefully manipulate the experimental design in order to explore specific hypotheses. Only three choices exist regarding animal response to place conditioning: aversion, preference, or no change. This review provides an in-depth analysis of five variables commonly adjusted or changed in place conditioning experiments with ethanol. These include: apparatus design, administration methods, choice of model organism, age of model organism, and model paradigms. It is suggested that the two-chamber design, the intragastric administration, the mouse model, the adolescent age group, and the pre-exposure to stress paradigm are the best current options available in place conditioning experiments with ethanol. The basis for evaluation used throughout this review is that investigators should adjust the variables employed in place conditioning experiments in a manner that most accurately represents and models complex human addiction to alcohol.