Berberine is sometimes called a metformin substitute or metformin alternative. Studies have shown that berberine may be used to replace metformin, at least partially. However, you should not stop taking metformin without talking to your doctor first.
Some claim the benefits are comparable to pharmaceutical medications like the blood sugar lowering drug metformin. Others take it further, asserting the research has concluded that berberine is a good treatment option to try before insulin therapy and may offer better results than metformin.
It was found that hypoglycemic effect of berberine is comparable to that of metformin. The level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting and postprandial glucose decreased by 7.5%, 6.9% and 11.1% respectively at the end of the trial. Similar findings were reported in a clinical study of Zhang et al [28].
Berberine has a high risk of interfering with drugs, and some of these reactions may be severe. When high doses are used, gastrointestinal upset may occur, and because of its ability to lower blood sugar, it can increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
Is berberine better than metformin for PCOS? Berberine may help with many more symptoms of PCOS than metformin. Metformin can help with insulin resistance issues, but not much more than that.
As for who should avoid the supplement? Infants, children, and pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take berberine. Adults with type 2 diabetes who are taking diabetes medication need to speak to their doctor before trying berberine.
Emerging research suggests that berberine is beneficial for balancing hormones, especially when it comes to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Berberine provides numerous benefits for women living with PCOS, including improved fertility, weight loss, and reduced inflammation.
In some people, supplementation with berberine has been reported to cause gastrointestinal side effects, including diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, and stomach pain. Due to its ability to reduce blood sugar, berberine may increase the risk for hypoglycemia in high doses.
The mechanism for berberine extract is very unclear. For decades it has been a well-researched herbal treatment for intestinal infections, like Giardia, but it came with the warning to avoid long-term use due to the potential undesirable and antimicrobial effect in the gut.
Taking berberine along with medications that lower blood pressure might cause blood pressure to go too low. Monitor your blood pressure closely. Berberine might slow blood clotting. Taking berberine along with medications that also slow blood clotting might increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.
Taking berberine supplements regularly appears to lower total cholesterol, “bad” cholesterol, and triglycerides in people with high cholesterol. It works differently from today's standard cholesterol medications, so it may help treat people who are resistant to other cholesterol-lowering drugs.
All of this means that berberine is widely available in Australia and consumers can just buy it straight off the shelf.
How long should I take berberine? Continual use of berberine can impact cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the liver which may affect drug-to-drug interactions. Therefore, it's recommended to use it in a pulsed 8-week cycle with two to four weeks off, then starting again if symptoms have not resolved.
Research has suggested that berberine can help treat diabetes, obesity, and inflammation, among other conditions. However, side effects can include upset stomach and nausea. Berberine has been a part of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
This study showed that berberine, a natural drug with low oral availability, significantly ameliorated chronic kidney disease by altering the composition of the gut microbiota and inhibiting the production of gut-derived uremic toxins, including p-cresol.
Despite wide scale use as an herbal supplement, berberine has not been linked to published instances of clinically apparent liver injury.
The toxicity of pure compound is greater than the toxicity of plant extract or plant extract fractions. The sub-acute concentrations of berberine lead to altered liver function, gastric troubles, hepato and hematotoxicity, hemorrhagic inflammatory consequences, damage to immune cells and induced apoptosis.
Berberine (also known as berberine hydrochloride) is a natural isoquinoline alkaloid found in a wide variety of herbs, including goldenseal, barberry, goldthread, Oregon grape and tree turmeric.
Overall, these data indicate that BBR inhibits pancreatic cancer cell viability through a mechanism that likely involves mitochondrial damage leading to decreased citrate metabolism and disruption of fatty acid biosynthesis, which has an important role in the proliferation and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells.
It contains high amounts of a chemical called berberine. The chemicals in tree turmeric might reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Tree turmeric is widely used in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.
Studies have shown that berberine is beneficial for people with a range of health problems, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It is also used for metabolic syndrome such as prediabetes, weight loss, dyslipidemia due to its lipid-lowering effect, polycystic ovary syndrome, and other health conditions.
It has been used throughout history in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal infections in humans, such as bacterial diarrhea, notably due to antibacterial properties. Berberine has been shown to promote epithelial barrier integrity and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects (1, 2).
Berberine can induce cell death of harmful intestinal bacteria and increase the number and species of beneficial bacteria (Habtemariam, 2020).