Tier 2 — strong

Efficacy of Berberine in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Yan HM, Xia MF, Wang Y, Chang XX, Yao XZ, Rao SX, Zeng MS, Tu YF, Feng R, Jia WP, Liu J, Deng W, Jiang JD, Gao X
PloS one 2015 10(8):e0134172

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 26252777
PubMed Central
PMC4529214
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0134172
Trial registry
View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding
Supported by Chinese national basic-research and science programs, Shanghai municipal health/science programs, the Ministry of Education and Fudan University grants.
Competing interests
A complete competing-interest declaration was not available in the accessible source; no absence of conflicts is inferred.

Study snapshot

DesignMulticenter randomized open-label parallel trial
ModelHuman participants; see population
Sample184 adults in three arms
InterventionLifestyle alone, plus pioglitazone 15 mg/day, or plus berberine 500 mg three times/day
Duration16 weeks
EndpointsLiver fat and liver enzymes; Body composition and weight; Metabolic biomarkers

What the study showed, in plain terms

Adding berberine to lifestyle treatment reduced liver fat more than lifestyle alone in this open-label trial. Participants had impaired glucose regulation or diabetes; the findings should be distinguished from the later diabetes-free BRAVO trial.

Key findings

  • Reported relative liver-fat reduction was 52.7% with berberine plus lifestyle versus 36.4% with lifestyle alone.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Open-label design and cointervention. Relative liver-fat changes are not percentage-point changes or proof of fibrosis reversal.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology