Discover the Incredible Benefits and Hidden Risks of Berberine You Need to Know!

Berberine is a bioactive compound found in several plants, including shrubs from the Berberis family, goldenseal, golden thread, Oregon grape, and tree turmeric. This natural alkaloid has a long history of use in traditional medicine due to its antimicrobial properties and potential health benefits. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved berberine for treating any medical conditions in the United States, research into its potential as a safe and effective aid for various health concerns, including weight loss, is ongoing.

Potential Benefits of Berberine

A 2020 review of laboratory, animal, and human studies suggests that berberine may influence biological processes that can aid weight loss and overall metabolic health. The authors found that berberine may:

Reduce blood glucose levels
Increase GLP-1, GLP-2, and peptide YY, substances that regulate metabolism and appetite
"Switch off" genes responsible for cholesterol absorption

These findings suggest that berberine may hold promise for treating or preventing metabolic conditions such as overweight or obesity and may even help prevent diabetes. Furthermore, berberine has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, potentially mitigating the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems linked to inflammation and insulin resistance.

Berberine and Weight Loss

While some studies have found a beneficial effect of berberine on weight loss, not all have. A 2020 review of randomized controlled trials found that while the compound seemed to reduce BMI and waist circumference, it did not significantly reduce overall body weight. This is due to berberine's low bioavailability, meaning the body does not absorb it easily. However, other studies have shown more promising results. In one 12-week study of obese people, 500 milligrams of berberine taken three times daily caused an average of 5 pounds of weight loss. Another 12-week study of obese men and women with metabolic syndrome found that 300 milligrams of berberine taken three times per day reduced their body mass index (BMI) from 31.5 to 27.4 (from “obese” to “overweight”).

Other Potential Health Benefits

Beyond weight loss, berberine has been investigated for its potential benefits in a variety of other health conditions:

Diabetes: Clinical studies have shown that berberine can lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. It can reduce glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), decrease fasting blood glucose levels, lower postprandial glucose (blood sugar levels after a meal), and improve lipid metabolism.
High Cholesterol: Berberine may help lower total cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in people with high cholesterol.
High Blood Pressure: Taking berberine by mouth along with the blood pressure-lowering drug amlodipine may reduce blood pressure better than taking amlodipine alone in people with high blood pressure.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Berberine may lower blood sugar, improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, reduce testosterone levels, and lower waist-to-hip ratio in people with PCOS.
Canker Sores: Applying a gel containing berberine can reduce pain, redness, oozing, and the size of canker sores.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) Infection: Adding berberine by mouth to multiple medications typically used to treat this condition might work as well as other accepted treatments.
Heart Health: Berberine may help protect your heart by reducing inflammation in cardiac tissues and improving heart function in heart failure patients.
Gut Health: Berberine can help relieve diarrhea and reshape the gut microbiota by increasing protective bacteria and reducing levels of harmful bacteria.
Infections: Berberine has shown potential in improving outcomes and helping eradicate bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, including MRSA, H. pylori, Chlamydia, Hepatitis C, H1N1 influenza, and sepsis.
Depression: Berberine may reduce anxiety by regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which play roles in mood stability, and by mitigating oxidative stress.
Neurodegenerative Diseases: Berberine may help improve long-term risk factors for dementia and other neurological issues by reducing inflammation and insulin resistance. It also helps protect cells in your brain and nervous system from damage.
Cancer: Berberine has shown specific activity against cancer cells, targeting them for destruction without harming healthy cells. It inhibits cell proliferation and improves mitochondrial function.

Potential Side Effects and Risks

Berberine may cause side effects for some people, including:

Nausea
Diarrhea
Bloating
Constipation
Abdominal pain

However, these effects appear to be mild and infrequent. It is unknown whether people can have a hypersensitivity or allergy to berberine, but people could have reactions to the herbs that contain berberine.

Other risks to be aware of include:

Drug interactions: Berberine may interact with several medications, including cyclosporine, medications for pain, mental health conditions, and cancer.
Risks in children and pregnancy: Children and pregnant people should not take berberine, as it may cause adverse effects such as jaundice in infants and bilirubin buildup, potentially leading to kernicterus.
Changes in gut flora: Berberine is antimicrobial and can alter microbes in the gut, reducing diversity.

Berberine Interactions

Berberine can interact with a variety of medications and supplements, potentially altering their effectiveness or increasing the risk of side effects. It is essential to consult with a healthcare professional before taking berberine, especially if you are currently taking any medications or have underlying health conditions.

Moderate Interactions

Cyclosporine: Berberine might decrease how quickly the body breaks down cyclosporine, potentially increasing its effects and side effects.
Pentobarbital: Berberine might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Taking berberine with pentobarbital might cause too much sleepiness.
Tacrolimus: Berberine might slow down the body's ability to remove tacrolimus, potentially increasing its effects and side effects.
Medications changed by the liver: Berberine might change how quickly the liver breaks down some medications, potentially altering their effects and side effects.
Medications that slow blood clotting: Taking berberine along with medications that also slow blood clotting might increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.
Diabetes medications: Taking berberine along with diabetes medications might cause blood sugar to drop too low.
Medications for high blood pressure: Taking berberine along with medications that lower blood pressure might cause blood pressure to go too low.
Sedative medications: Taking berberine with sedative medications might cause breathing problems and/or too much sleepiness.
Dextromethorphan: Berberine might decrease how quickly the body breaks down dextromethorphan, potentially increasing its effects and side effects.
Losartan: Berberine might decrease how quickly the body activates losartan, which might decrease its effects.
Midazolam: Berberine can decrease how quickly the body breaks down midazolam, potentially increasing its effects and side effects.
Metformin: Berberine might increase the amount of metformin in the body, potentially increasing its effects and side effects. This interaction seems to occur when berberine is taken around 2 hours before metformin.

Interactions with Herbs and Supplements

Sedatives: Berberine may cause drowsiness. This effect can be enhanced if ingested together with other preparations of similar effect such as those with content of calypso, catnip herb, hops, guamá, kava, tryptophan, melatonin, sage or skullcap, amongst others.
Blood thinners: Taking berberine along with angelica, cloves, garlic, ginger, ginkgo biloba or ginseng, amongst other substances, may decrease clotting, increasing the likelihood of bruising and bleeding.
Hypotensives: When swallowed at the same time as supplements intended to lower blood pressure, it can cause pronounced hypertension in addition to bradycardia. Examples are milk casein peptides, cat’s claw, fish oil, L-arginine, garlic extract, green coffee extract and theanine.
Hypoglycemics: Certain natural products have a strong hypoglycemic tendency, such as α-lipoic acid, garlic, bitter melon, devil’s claw, fenugreek, guar gum, cinnamon or ginseng, without exhausting the catalog. Consistent with this, caution should be exercised with regard to the taking of berberine.
Other substances rich in Berberine: Simultaneously consuming other herbs in whose chemical composition berberine is found can bring a risk of toxicity. Among them we could cite bloodroot or celandine.

Dosage and Usage

Berberine has most often been used by adults in doses of 0.4-1.5 grams by mouth daily for up to 2 years. It is often recommended to take berberine 30 minutes before meals. For the typical adult, berberine is effective for blood-sugar management taken 400-500mg at once, twice or thrice a day, ideally about 30 minutes prior to each meal. In sensitive individuals, it may be best tolerated if taken in cycles of ~3 weeks off/on to allow the microbiome to recover. Berberine has also been used in eye drops and gels.

Who Should Avoid Berberine?

Pregnant and breastfeeding women: Berberine is likely unsafe during pregnancy and breastfeeding due to the risk of harm to the fetus or infant.
Children: It is likely unsafe to give berberine to newborns, as it can cause kernicterus, a rare type of brain damage. There isn't enough reliable information to know if berberine is safe in older children.
People with high bilirubin levels in the blood: Berberine may keep the liver from removing bilirubin fast enough, which can cause brain problems, especially in infants with high levels of bilirubin in the blood.
Individuals taking certain medications: Due to potential drug interactions, people taking other drugs or have other health conditions should not take berberine without first speaking with a doctor.

Read also: Berberine and Metformin

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