Anticancer potential of berberine: Molecular pathways and current clinical trial perspectives

Cancer is constantly rising mortality rates due to its late prognosis, poor management, and expensive treatment. Multi‐sectoral approaches for cancer management include hygienic practices, synthetic drug exploitation, radiation therapy, and diet modifications. Healthcare professionals and dietitians work as a team to reduce cancer malignancy and severity. It has been observed that certain pathways (mTOR/AKT, EMT, EGFR/ERK1, and Rap/PI3K‐Akt) and gene expressions (CDK2, CCNB1, PCNA, PRIM1, and ATF6) are involved, which contribute to exaggerating metastatic activity within the individual body. Medicinal plants and bioactive compounds, particularly berberine, inhibit cancer metastasis. Moreover, its bioavailability has significant potential, which is improved by D‐α‐tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate, lysergol, and by formulating nano‐emulsions and nano‐drugs. Furthermore, its antioxidant potential is associated with the aggravating levels of SOD, GPx, and MDA. Berberine inhibited cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by inducing apoptosis and targeting cancer‐promoting pathways and expressions. Although significant research related to the anticancer potentials is available, there are certain limitations, such as mechanistic randomized clinical trials, berberine bioavailability, and its future applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals, which need to be conducted.