{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T16:01:16Z","timestamp":1787068876018,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779408000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is often associated with androgen excess, insulin resistance, and low-grade inflammation. While progesterone is standard for regulating menstrual cycles, additional therapies are often needed to address metabolic and inflammatory dysfunctions. Berberine has shown insulin-sensitizing and anti-inflammatory actions that may complement standard hormonal therapy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study was designed to evaluate whether adding oral berberine to luteal-phase progesterone improves anthropometric, hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory indicators in women with PCOS compared with progesterone alone.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Women with PCOS who received either berberine plus luteal-phase progesterone or progesterone alone for 3 months were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical records were reviewed for anthropometric, hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory outcomes, assessed at baseline and after treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The berberine group showed significant within-group reductions in weight, BMI, and WHR; no significant changes occurred in the controls. Crude post-treatment between-group differences in weight, BMI, and WHR were not significant, but became significant for weight and BMI after adjustment. Although the LH and LH\/FSH ratio declined in both groups, the adjusted post-treatment values were significantly lower in the berberine group compared to the control group, indicating a superior effect. Total testosterone fell only in the berberine group, yielding significant crude and adjusted between-group differences. Metabolically, fasting insulin, FBS, and HOMA-IR decreased significantly in the berberine group but not in the control group, with crude and adjusted between-group differences remaining significant. Inflammatory markers (CRP, TNF-\u03b1, IL-6) declined significantly only in the berberine group. Between-group comparisons were significant in CRP, TNF-\u03b1, and IL-6 at 3 months after adjustment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These preliminary findings suggest that adjunctive berberine therapy may improve anthropometric, hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory profiles in women with PCOS. However, well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to confirm these effects and establish definitive clinical recommendations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1700331","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T06:12:25Z","timestamp":1779430345000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Adjunctive berberine improves hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory profiles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a retrospective case\u2013control study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Lingling","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuxin","family":"Ju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanyuan","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northern Jiangsu People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 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