The Effect of Berberine on Lipid Profile, Liver Enzymes, and Fasting Blood Glucose in Patients with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): A Randomized Controlled Trial

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver disorders with a relatively high mortality rate. Berberine has recently been found to have some antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects, although the evidence of its effectiveness in NAFLD is limited. To assess the efficacy of berberine among patients with NAFLD.  

The patients with NAFLD were randomly assigned to treatment with (n = 25) or without (n = 25) berberine. The patients in the intervention group took berberine 6.25 g per day and the control group had no berberine. All patients in the 2 groups had been recommended to have lifestyle training, including a low-fat diet and physical activity before randomization. Independent student t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests along paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used. Analysis of covariance was also used to estimate the difference of the variables between the 2 groups adjusting for baseline characteristics.  

The results indicated that berberine, compared with the control group, had no significant impact on lipid levels, including triglyceride (P = 0.350), total cholesterol (P = 0.120), high-density lipoproteins (P = 0.401), and low-density lipoproteins (P = 0.100). Similarly, no significant difference was observed between the treatment arms in the level of fasting blood glucose (P = 0.055) and liver enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.109), serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (P = 0.366), and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (P = 0.436). The effect of berberine on body weight was also nonsignificant (P = 0.494) and even smaller than that of liver enzymes, with a mean difference of 1.8 kg (P = 0.304) in body weight.  

Berberine was not associated with a significant decrease in lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, or liver enzymes among patients with NAFLD.