Chemistry and Biological Activities of Berberis lycium Royle

Abstract

Berberis lycium Royle belonging to family Berberidaceae is a high-value medicinal plant with a known history of uses in folk medicine. It is used traditionally for curing a broad range of human illnesses and diseases in the Indian Himalayan region of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Its ethnomedicinal uses include its use for treatment of jaundice, diabetes, eye infections, fractured bones, internal wounds, diarrhea, rheumatism, stomachache, and its use as a general body tonic. Although its every part has some medicinal properties, the most commonly used parts are roots and stem-bark. Its biologically active phytochemicals are alkaloids with berberine as the major one. An analysis of literature shows that its main biological activities are mainly attributed to berberine.Available literature shows that the plant has a wide range of biological activities including antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, anticancer and antitumor, wound and bone healing, antimicrobial, anticoccidial, antioxidant, hypotensive, immunity enhancing, antiurolithic, anthelmintic and hepatoprotective. Its wide use in folk medicine has prompted research in its phytochemical constituents and biological activities over the last four decades. Research in these lines is attesting its ethnomedicinal uses.This review paper is aimed to explore the chemistry and biological activities of this gifted medicinal plant.