Berberine: Is it a Promising Agent for Mental Disorders Treatment?

Abstract

Effective and better-tolerated agents for the treatment of most of psychiatric disorders are one of the main challenges. Recently, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and neuroprotective agents as adjuvant therapy have been shown to be able to play a role against the degenerative mechanisms commonly related to psychiatric conditions. Berberine, a biologically active alkaloid derived from various plants, represents many pharmacological impacts, such as antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This compound also protects neurons and improves the survival, growth and action of nerve cells due to its high potential for crossing the blood-brain barrier. Ample evidence reported that berberine had been associated with CNS-related disorders, including Alzheimer's, cerebral ischemia, mental depression, schizophrenia and anxiety. Thus, in this review, we aimed to indicate the effectiveness of berberine on mental disorders.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Berberine; anxiety; depression; neurodegenerative disease; schizophrenia.