Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10278961, I will examine the "Citations" section of the patent, which lists documents cited by the examiner and/or third parties. Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, prior art anticipates a claim if it discloses every element of the claimed invention.

Here are the patent citations listed in US10278961B2 and their potential relevance:

1. US20100113494A1

• Full Citation: US20100113494A1 (Shanghai Institute Of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy Of Sciences)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2010-05-06; Priority Date: 2006-09-30
• Brief Description: This publication describes "13,13a-Dihydroberberine Derivatives For Use In Pharmaceutical Compositions." This directly concerns dihydroberberine and its derivatives in pharmaceutical applications.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1 and 9, and their dependent claims, as it discusses dihydroberberine for pharmaceutical use, which is central to both independent claims of US10278961B2 (managing glucose tolerance and increasing blood ketone levels).

2. US20140350105A1

• Full Citation: US20140350105A1 (University Of South Florida)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2014-11-27; Priority Date: 2013-03-19
• Brief Description: This patent application describes "Compositions and methods for producing elevated and sustained ketosis." This is highly relevant as increasing blood ketone levels is a primary objective of US10278961B2.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference potentially anticipates claim 9 and its dependent claims, which focus on increasing blood ketone levels. If the compositions and methods described in US20140350105A1 involve dihydroberberine or similar mechanisms, it could also anticipate elements of claim 1.

3. US20150063140A1

• Full Citation: US20150063140A1 (Lg Electronics Inc.)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2015-03-05; Priority Date: 2012-03-28
• Brief Description: The provided patent text briefly describes this as a "Method for measuring channel using tracking reference signal in wireless communication system and device using same." This description indicates it is unrelated to the subject matter of US10278961B2.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference is unlikely to anticipate any claims of US10278961B2, as its subject matter (wireless communication systems) is entirely different from the administration of berberine metabolites for metabolic management.

Non-Patent Citations:

1. International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US17/28466 dated Jul. 5, 2017 (9 pages).

• Brief Description: This is a procedural document from an international patent application, not a piece of prior art itself. However, it would typically list other relevant prior art found during the international search.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This document itself does not anticipate any claims, but any prior art documents identified within it would need to be evaluated individually.

Families Citing this family (prior art to the current patent):

The "Family Cites Families" section lists two publications, which are considered prior art because they predate the priority date of US10278961 (April 19, 2016).

1. CN1759834B

• Full Citation: CN1759834B (中国医学科学院医药生物技术研究所 - Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2010-06-23; Priority Date: 2004-09-17
• Brief Description: This patent describes the "Use of berberine or its combination with simvastatin in the preparation of products for preventing or treating diseases or symptoms related to blood lipids." While it mentions berberine, it does not specifically refer to dihydroberberine or tetrahydroberberine as metabolites in the context of managing glucose tolerance or increasing ketone levels.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference might be relevant to the general therapeutic use of berberine for metabolic disorders, but it does not appear to directly anticipate the specific claims regarding dihydroberberine for glucose tolerance or ketone levels as defined in US10278961B2.

2. WO2015063140A1

• Full Citation: WO2015063140A1 (Pharnext)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2015-05-07; Priority Date: 2013-10-30
• Brief Description: This publication describes "Compositions, methods and uses for the treatment of diabetes and related conditions by controlling blood glucose level." This is highly relevant to the glucose management aspects of US10278961B2.
• Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference potentially anticipates claim 1 and its dependent claims, which focus on managing glucose tolerance. The specific compounds and mechanisms described within WO2015063140A1 would need to be thoroughly analyzed to determine the exact extent of anticipation.