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Pooled review (meta-analysis)

Pooled review of 10 trials, 811 people with fatty liver: lower BMI, insulin resistance

Nie and colleagues · Journal of translational medicine · 2024

Original title: The clinical efficacy and safety of berberine in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

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What the study found

Points to benefit

In 10 trials with 811 patients, berberine lowered BMI (SMD = - 0.58, 95% CI [- 0.77, - 0.38]) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR SMD = - 1.56), plus liver enzymes and blood fats. Side effects were mild stomach problems.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Pooled review (meta-analysis)
Who or what was studied
10 studies, 811 people · People with fatty liver disease
What was tested
Berberine compared with control treatments
What it measured
Several kinds of outcomes
Trial registration
CRD42023462338
Who has a stake
No stake declared
No competing interests declared.
Journal
Journal of translational medicine, 2024
Source
PubMed record 38429794. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Pools the results of 10 studies with 811 people.
  • •A pooled review is only as strong as the studies it pools.
  • •Measured several kinds of outcomes.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a pooled review (meta-analysis), and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: weight and blood sugar

    7

    7 benefit

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    7

    5 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    2

    1 benefit, 1 no difference

  4. Population studies

    2

    2 benefit

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  6. Animals

    1

    1 benefit

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does berberine help with weight loss and blood sugar?”

Lowers blood sugar in diabetes; weight unclear.

Confidence: low. Based on 28 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Quoted in “What we found”: Pooled trials found lower BMI with berberine in people with type 2 diabetes (MD = -1.07) and in people with fatty liver disease (SMD = - 0.58).
  • Part of the finding “Weight results are mixed”.
  • Summed up in “What reviews found”: Pooled 10 trials with 811 people with fatty liver disease. Berberine lowered BMI (SMD = - 0.58) and insulin resistance (SMD = - 1.56), plus liver enzymes and blood fats, with mild stomach side effects.

Other reviews on this question

See all 28 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 2 fields after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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