Article Summary:
- As an antioxidant, berberine positively influences several biochemical pathways associated with glucose metabolism.*
- Natural berberine is bitter and has low bioavailability, resulting in poor user compliance and less than optimal absorption in the body.
- Tesseract’s BerberActiv® is a unique nutritional supplement with enhanced palatability and bioavailability to support optimal glucose metabolism.*
What is Berberine?
Berberine, found in the roots, rhizomes, and stem bark of plants such as Berberis aristata (tree turmeric), Berberis aquifolium (Oregon grape), and Berberis vulgaris (barberry), is known for having multiple health-promoting benefits.*
Berberine’s antioxidant properties and its role in helping maintain the body’s natural inflammatory response have long been associated with supporting good endocrine health, with particular benefits related to glucose metabolism.*
Below, we discuss berberine’s glucose support properties and how including a berberine supplement in your diet can help maintain optimal glucose metabolism in your body.
Berberine Promotes Normal Glucose Metabolism
Glucose is integral to energy production in the body. Once in circulation, glucose is transported into cells and metabolized to eventually produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — the primary energy currency of the cell.
What is Glucose Metabolism?
Glucose metabolism refers to the various biochemical processes by which the body utilizes glucose to produce energy. Several different organs participate in glucose metabolism, including the nervous system, pancreas, liver, gut, and adipose cells.
Let’s look at how glucose metabolism works.
- Your blood glucose level increases after you eat, simultaneously increasing insulin secretion from your pancreas.
- Insulin converts glucose into glycogen that is deposited in the liver.
- As your blood glucose level falls gradually during the hours after a meal, your liver releases glucose back into the blood, thereby decreasing fluctuations.
Berberine and Glucose Support
Let’s look at how berberine’s glucose support properties benefit glucose metabolism.
Berberine’s Glucose Support Properties | ||
| Addressing Insulin Resistance* | Berberine enhances1 the physiological stimulation of glucose through a cascade reaction of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a critical stimulant that induces insulin secretion and reduces insulin resistance.* Berberine also enhances the sensitivity of the liver, muscle tissues, and fat to insulin.* | |
| Promoting Insulin Secretion* | Berberine’s antioxidant properties protect pancreatic islet cells and promote insulin secretion by enhancing the activation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signal pathway.* | |
| Inhibiting Gluconeogenesis* | Berberine promotes2 glucose uptake and inhibits gluconeogenesis by inhibiting the SIRT3 protein and regulating mitochondria-related pathways.* | |
| Stimulating Glycolysis* | Berberine-induced activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway is likely3 a consequence of mitochondrial inhibition of glucose oxidation, which stimulates glycolysis.* | |
| Limiting Intestinal Absorption of Glucose* | Berberine reduces4 the activity of the enzyme disaccharidase and inhibits the digestion of carbohydrates in the intestine.* | |
| Modulating Gut Microbiota* | Berberine positively influences5 the gut microbiota, enriching the population of butyrate-producing bacteria.* | |
Several clinical studies suggest berberine’s beneficial effects on glucose metabolism.* However, berberine’s naturally poor bioavailability and bitter taste hinder its efficacy and pose challenges to user compliance. A supplement containing nano-formulated berberine shows more promising results than unformulated berberine.
A Supplement Utilizing Berberine’s Glucose Support Properties
BerberActiv® is a unique hypoallergenic berberine nutritional supplement developed by Tesseract Medical Research for quick and sustained release, as well as enhanced bioavailability. Tesseract’s proprietary CyLoc® – DexKey® nutrient delivery technology ensures targeted delivery of the berberine molecules in the intestinal tract for optimal absorption.
Tesseract’s CyLoc® technology isolates and encases each berberine molecule individually in a dextrin fiber matrix, creating nanosized particles. Tesseract’s DexKey® technology accompanies the CyLoc® molecules and breaks the dextrin fiber cage at the desired point in the intestinal tract to release one berberine molecule at a time for maximum absorption and efficacy.
This unprecedented absorption of berberine in your body translates to promoting optimal glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, gastrointestinal health, and liver function.*
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing solubility, absorption, and bioavailability, and micro-dosing a single or multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Shop products on our website and learn more about how they support endocrine health.*
References:
1Li M, et al. Integrative analysis of metabolome and gut microbiota in diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats treated with berberine compounds. Journal of Translational Medicine vol. 14,1 237. 5 Aug. 2016, doi:10.1186/s12967-016-0987-5
2Zhang B, et al. Berberine promotes glucose uptake and inhibits gluconeogenesis by inhibiting deacetylase SIRT3. Endocrine vol. 62,3(2018):576-587. doi:10.1007/s12020-018-1689-y
3Yin J, et al. Berberine improves glucose metabolism through induction of glycolysis. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism vol. 294,1(2008):E148-156. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00211.2007
4Liu L, et al. Berberine suppresses intestinal disaccharidases with beneficial metabolic effects in diabetic states, evidences from in vivo and in vitro study. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology vol. 381,4(2010):371-381. doi:10.1007/s00210-010-0502-0
5Zhang L, et al. Effects of berberine on the gastrointestinal microbiota. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology vol. 10 588517. 19 Feb. 2021, doi:10.3389/fcimb.2020.588517
