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Objective: To evaluate the effects of berberine on the menstrual pattern, ovulation rate, hormonal and metabolic profiles in anovulatory Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Methods: Berberine 0.4 g three times per day was given for four months to 102 anovulatory Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. The menstrual pattern, ovulation rate, hormonal and metabolic profiles were compared before and after the berberine treatment. Ovulation was confirmed by serum progesterone level ≥10ng/ml. Results: A total of 98 of 102 subjects (96.1%) completed the four month treatment, including 69 (70.4%, 69/98) normal weight and 29 (29.6%, 29/98) overweight/obese. Fourteen women (14.3%, 14/98) had regained regular menses after berberine treatment and there was no significant difference between normal weight and overweight/obese groups. The ovulation rate was 25.0% over four months in the whole group, 22.5% in the normal weight group and 31.0% in the overweight/obese group. Sex hormone binding globulin, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, total triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased after berberine treatment in the normal weight group only. Conclusions: Our study found that administration of berberine alone may improve the menstrual pattern and ovulation rate in anovulatory Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Berberine can also decrease sex hormone binding globulin, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in normal weight polycystic ovary syndrome women. Trial Registration: Chictr.org [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large number of infertile couples are choosing Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as an adjuvant therapy to improve their success when undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). There is no systematic review to evaluate the impact of CHM on the IVF outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of CHM with concurrent IVF versus IVF alone on the outcomes of IVF and its safety. Methods: The protocol of this study is registered at PROSPERO. Eligible RCTs searched from 8 databases which compared a combination of CHM and IVF with IVF alone were included. Two authors independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Meta-analysis of RCTs was conducted if there was non-significant heterogeneity (evaluated by I2 test) among trials. All statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results: Twenty trials involving 1721 women were included in the meta-analysis. Three trials were evaluated as having an unclear risk of bias. The remaining trials were evaluated as having a high risk of bias. Combination of CHM and IVF significantly increases clinical pregnancy rates (OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.67 to 2.49, p<0.00001) and ongoing pregnancy rates (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.17 to 3.10, p = 0.009). Use of CHM after embryo transfer had no better outcome in reducing the rate of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OR 0.39, 95%CI 0.14 to 1.11, p = 0.08). Conclusions: This meta-analysis showed that combination of IVF and CHM used in the included trials improve IVF success, however due to the high risk of bias observed with the trials, the significant differences found with the meta-analysis are unlikely to be accurate. No conclusion could be drawn with respect to the reproductive toxicity of CHM. Further large randomized placebo controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings before recommending women to take CHM to improve their IVF success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]