You may have come across barberries in Persian and North African rice pilaf, salads, desserts, jams, or as a flavoring in candies and beverages. Recently, berberine—a compound derived from barberries and other plants—has gained popularity on social media as a potential aid for weight management.
But did you know berberine offers a wide range of additional health and wellness benefits when used as a supplement?
Below, we answer common questions about berberine’s benefits and uses, including how it supports multiple aspects of health and wellness—and why choosing an advanced berberine formulation can make a difference in its effectiveness. Use the links below to jump ahead to different topics on the page.
Berberine: Origin and Effects
Berberis vulgaris, commonly known as barberry, contains several compounds, including berberine, pectin, vitamins C and K, and quercetin. Berberine specifically, is a yellow bitter alkaloid with many potential health benefits. This phytochemical is is primarily extracted from the roots, rhizomes, and stem bark of barberry trees. The stem barks, roots, and rhizomes of these plants, containing berberine, have been used in various cultural medical practices for centuries..
The following table highlights some of the potential benefits and uses of berberine:
| Benefits and Uses of Berberine | |
|---|---|
| Antioxidant effects* | Berberine strengthens the body’s antioxidant defense system by increasing the levels of glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), which scavenge excessive free radicals.* 1 |
| Immunomodulatory effects* | Berberine down-regulates the production of proinflammatory cytokines that can cause undesirable unbalanced inflammatory responses.* 2
Berberine also beneficially influences acute phase proteins — the plasma proteins that up-regulate inflammatory responses.* 3 |
| Cardioprotective Effects* | Berberine’s benefits lipid and glucose metabolism, helping to maintain healthy blood sugar and lipid levels.* 4
Berberine helps maintain healthy vascular function by increasing nitric oxide production, which promotes normal endothelial relaxation.* 5 |
| Hepatoprotective Effects* | Berberine helps maintain normal liver lipid production and limits oxidative stress in the liver by limiting lipid peroxidation.* 6 |
| Nephroprotective Effects* | Berberine supplementation supports kidney health in individuals with high blood glucose levels, primarily through antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects.* 7 |
Berberine Supplement Benefits
If berberine is abundantly found in nature, then why should you take a berberine supplement? This is because ingesting unformulated berberine might not achieve its health-promoting benefits as it displays poor intestinal absorption due to:
- Physicochemical Property: Berberine is a hydrophilic compound with poor membrane permeability and its solubility is temperature-dependent.8*
- Intestinal First-Pass Elimination: Berberine is metabolized before it reaches systemic circulation.*
- Degradation in Liver: Berberine is degraded by undergoing phase I and phase 2 transformation in the liver. *
- Efflux to Intestinal Lumen: Berberine is effluxed back to the intestinal lumen, further reducing net absorption and increasing excretion out of the body9.
Berberine, in an advanced nutritional supplement format, overcomes its natural absorption challenges. The following are some of the key benefits of berberine supplements:
- Palatability: Berberine has a natural, intensely bitter taste. Its high aqueous solubility makes masking its taste difficult. An advanced berberine supplement formulation can enhance its palatability to achieve improved user compliance.10
- Microdosing: Ingesting a high amount of berberine to increase its absorption can result in upset stomach, cramping, and/or diarrhea. Berberine supplements can enhance absorption allowing for lower doses (micro-dosing) to achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes, and potentially reducing gastrointestinal side effects.11
- Better absorption: Multiple studies demonstrate that novel delivery systems significantly enhance berberine’s oral bioavailability and intestinal absorption.12
Berberine Supplements: Types and Uses
Berberine supplements are commercially available in the form of fluid or powdered extracts, tablets, and capsules.
Commercially available berberine supplement formulations usually contain 400-500 mg of berberine per capsule, with berberine hydrochloride salt being the primarily used ingredient. Additional active ingredients can also be included in berberine supplement formulations to enhance its efficacy.
However, poor absorption of berberine can remain a major challenge. Advanced berberine supplement formulations utilize drug delivery systems, such as phytosomes and cyclodextrins, to enhance the absorption and bioavailability of berberine extracts.12
The following sections highlight two common uses of berberine supplementation:
- Berberine Supplementation for Endocrine Health
Berberine has recently gained attention for its potential role in weight management.* Its ability to support healthy glucose and lipid metabolism contributes to overall endocrine health, which in turn is linked to maintaining a healthy weight13. The following table highlights berberine’s benefits in maintaining endocrine health:
| Berberine and Endocrine Health | |
|---|---|
| Glucose homeostasis* | Berberine beneficially influences the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway — a key cell signaling transduction pathway, to promote insulin secretion and down-regulate insulin resistance .*8 Berberine stimulates the breakdown of glucose into pyruvic acid, thereby releasing cellular energy.* 9 |
| Liver detoxification* | During starvation periods, liver cells play a key role in maintaining blood glucose levels by synthesizing glucose from non-carbohydrate sources in an essential manner. However, increased gluconeogenesis increases blood glucose levels. Berberine inhibits increased gluconeogenesis by the liver cells by beneficially regulating mitochondria-related pathways.* 10 Berberine promotes healthy blood lipid levels by increasing the excretion of cholesterol from the liver into bile, * |
| Weight Management* | Berberine is associated with promoting healthy weight management through enhancing metabolism by maintaining normal blood glucose and lipid levels by enhancing fatty acid oxidation and limiting lipid accumulation, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL).* 12 |
| Hormonal Balance* | Berberine plays a critical role in maintaining normal levels of hormones, such as insulin, estrogen, and testosterone, that benefit specific pathologies arising due to an imbalance of androgens (sex hormones) in females.* 13 |
| Lipid metabolism* | The adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a critical enzyme that promotes fatty acid oxidation and limits accumulation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), often linked to cardiovascular disease. Berberine is a known activator of AMPK.* 14 |
Berberine exerts many beneficial effects to help counter various metabolic conditions that can adversely affect endocrine health.*
- Berberine Supplementation for Immune Function
Berberine extracts have been traditionally used to help maintain normal inflammatory responses in various cells, including the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and fat (adipose) cells.* Research indicates that berberine interacts with the immune system’s T-helper cells to maintain a healthy inflammatory response.* However, berberine’s potential beneficial role in influencing cell signaling pathways and enzymes to limit adverse immune responses is still being investigated.
- Suppressing the functioning and differentiation of T-helper (Th) cells: Th1 and Th17 are subsets of T-helper cells involved in optimal immune function. Berberine directly suppresses the functioning and differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells.*13
- Indirectly affecting Th-cell-mediated inflammation: Berberine beneficially modulates the actions of other immune cells, such as dendritic cells and macrophages, to indirectly influence Th-cell-mediated immune responses.*14
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions About Berberine Supplements
The following are frequently asked questions about berberine supplements:
What are the side effects of berberine supplements?
Berberine supplements have a well-established safety profile. However, its effects on pregnant or breastfeeding women are unknown. Additionally, there is limited data on long-term intake of a berberine supplement. Excessive intake of berberine might cause gastrointestinal side effects, including flatulence, nausea, constipation, or diarrhea.
Can a berberine supplement be taken with a prescription medicine?
Limited research exists on the potential medication interactions with berberine, therefore It is always best to consult with your healthcare provider before initiating berbering supplementation. . .
How to select a supplement formulation that can achieve optimal therapeutic benefits from berberine?
When considering a berberine supplement, look for the following attributes:
- Enhanced palatability
- Enhanced absorption
- Enhancing bioavailability
BerberActiv® is a hypoallergenic berberine supplement formulation developed by Tesseract Medical Research. Tesseract’s proprietary CyLoc® – DexKey® nutrient delivery nanotechnology enables optimal absorption of berberine, thus achieving its many health-promoting benefits. The CyLoc® technology surrounds each berberine molecule in its smart delivery system to mask its bitterness and protect it from degradation during the transit through the stomach. The accompanying DexKey® reactors release each berberine molecule at the desired point in the intestinal tract for maximum solubility.
Tesseract’s advanced nutrient delivery nanotechnology addresses berberine’s palatability and bioavailability challenges to achieve user compliance. Berberine’s enhanced solubility enables micro-dosing, resulting in the intake of a lesser amount of berberine to achieve the desired health and wellness outcome.
Tesseract Medical Research’s innovative berberine formulation is developed through a well-designed quality control system and advanced analytical techniques. All Tesseract supplements are manufactured following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing solubility, absorption and bioavailability, and micro-dosing multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Shop products on our website and learn more about how they can support your endocrine health and immune function.*
References:
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