Berberine is an alkaloid phytochemical that occurs in several shrubs and trees, including barberry varieties, yellowroot, tree turmeric, Oregon grape, goldthread varietals (Chinese, Japanese), Californian poppy, goldenseal, and orange root. The alkaloid occurs in the highlighted plants’ leaves, roots, stems, bark, and rhizomes.
Trees, shrubs, and herbs containing berberine feature prominently in Ayurvedic medicine (Hindu traditional medicine) and Traditional Chinese medicine. Both conventional medicine systems use berberine-rich plants for their therapeutic benefits, including wound healing, fever, inflammation illnesses, digestive problems, and infections.
So, while berberine’s use in traditional medicine may have sparked researchers’ interest in the alkaloid, which of its therapeutic benefits hold based on empirical research? Keep reading to discover Berberine’s proven benefits.
1. Berberine May Help Regulate Blood Sugar
Although berberine occurs naturally in readily available plants, it has an intensely bitter taste, making its consumption challenging for most individuals. Therefore, alkaloids are primarily known as dietary supplements formulated to enhance their palatability in the US wellness market.
Consumers in the wellness arena purchase berberine products for various wellness benefits. Nonetheless, the most prevalent use among berberine supplement benefits is blood sugar regulation.
Blood sugar or glycemia is the blood’s glucose (primary energy source) concentration. Although blood sugar regulation is automatic, glycemic dysregulation occurs when the body produces excess insulin, too little insulin, or fails to utilize the insulin produced efficiently. Glycemic dysregulation may result in various health conditions, including insulin resistance, prediabetes, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic blood sugar regulation problem affecting 13% of the US population. Moreover, some individuals struggle to regulate their blood sugar despite being on allopathic (conventional) diabetes medicine.
So, can berberine help improve blood sugar regulation? Research on berberine shows alkaloids can regulate blood sugar by controlling insulin function.
For starters, one study used an observational and a control group to compare the effect of berberine and recombinant insulin on blood sugar. Although the participants in both groups had a metabolic syndrome diagnosis, the control group received insulin treatment for a month while the observation group received berberine for an equal duration.
The study established that berberine significantly impacted blood sugar indices, including postprandial blood glucose and insulin resistance.
2. Berberine May Enhance Gut Microbiota Composition
Gut microbiota, or the healthy microorganisms in the digestive tract, maintain your tract’s integrity by keeping it in optimum condition and preventing pathogenic attacks. Additionally, healthy gut microbiota composition helps maintain metabolic homeostasis.
However, multiple factors can compromise healthy microbiota composition, including diet, some medications, poor sleep patterns, inactivity, and alcohol consumption.
Poor gut microbiota composition does more than compromise gut health. Besides digestive problems, it is a risk factor for metabolic disorders, including obesity and insulin resistance. Fortunately, berberine can potentially alleviate such metabolic disorders by improving gut microbiota composition.
Short-term berberine supplementation in animal and human trials established that the alkaloid may enhance the functionality of the immune cells in the gastrointestinal system. Berberine affects the expression of various immune cell factors, countering inflammation in the gut.
Second, berberine causes the accumulation of substances that mediate glucose and lipid digestion, including butyrate short-chain fatty acids. It does so by proliferating (causing an increase) the population of bacteria that produce butyrate, causing elevated blood butyrate levels. Butyrate increases lipid and glucose metabolism, reducing the risk of developing metabolic dysfunction.
3. Berberine May Induce Weight Loss
Obesity and overweight are significant health concerns in the US; one in three American adults are overweight, while two in five have obesity. Besides the physiological and psychological effects of being at an unhealthy body weight, obesity and being overweight are risk factors for multiple diseases, including high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. However, berberine supplementation may help with weight loss.
Preclinical animal and human studies on berberine’s effect on obesity show that short-term berberine supplementation may induce weight loss. Berberine’s effect on glucose and lipid absorption, insulin function, and gut microbiota composition are among the proposed mechanisms of action for its effect on weight loss.
4. It May Induce Antimicrobial Effects
Microbes like harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi are in the pathogenesis of multiple infectious diseases. Moreover, some microbes demonstrate multi-drug resistance, making the resulting illnesses extremely challenging to treat.
Berberine supplementation presents a viable solution for managing microbial infections and diseases. Its antimicrobial effects include preventing pathogenic intracellular invasion, dissolving the pathogen’s cell membrane, and preventing cell synthesis.
Additionally, berberine may potentiate allopathic antimicrobial drugs via synergistic antibacterial activity. Its potentiating effect is a potential solution for tackling multi-drug resistance in pathogens.
5. Berberine May Possess Neuroprotective Properties
Neuroprotection is any activity that helps prevent neural (brain cell) death or restores function in degenerative neurons. Degeneration in brain cells occurs primarily due to aging factors like oxidative stress and “inflammaging” (age-induced inflammation).
Neural cell degeneration marks the onset of neurodegenerative illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Unlike other body cells, brain cells do not regenerate upon death, which makes neuroprotection crucial to preserving normal brain function.
Berberine may induce neuroprotection for Alzheimer’s disease via multiple channels, inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. However, more research is necessary to establish the alkaloid’s neuroprotective potential.
Conclusion:
Although the research on berberine as a therapeutic agent is at its inception, the alkaloid shows numerous promises as a therapeutic agent for the highlighted wellness areas. However, consult your doctor before using berberine for any wellness benefit, especially if you are on prescription medications. Also, ensure you purchase high-quality berberine supplements from trustworthy vendors and brands.