Berberine

Also called

Barberry, Berberis

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Berberine is found in the roots, stems and fruits of plants in several plant families, including the barberry family. The bark and root contain the most.[1]

• Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) contains 22 alkaloids, of which berberine is the main one.[3]

• Berberine has a broad antibiotic effect and is very widely used to treat diarrhea in China.[4]

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• Very little berberine (less than 1%) is absorbed into the blood when taken by mouth, which has limited its use as a medicine.[3]

Research in people

• A 2020 review of 38 trials with 3,948 people (2,702 of them children) found berberine, alone or added to antibiotics, generally improved cure rates and shortened diarrhea compared with other treatments. No serious side effects or deaths were reported. Most children's trials gave it as an enema, and the quality of evidence was moderate to very low.[4]

• A 2020 review of 13 trials in China found that adding berberine to standard triple therapy for H. pylori raised the rate of clearing the infection, helped stomach ulcers heal and relieved symptoms, with fewer side effects than standard therapy alone.[5]

  Technical detail: eradication RR 1.22 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.27); ulcer healing RR 1.15; adverse events RR 0.65.

• A review of berberine research describes possible benefits for obesity, diabetes, heart and gut diseases, and some infections, and says it is generally regarded as safe. The authors caution against assuming it prevents disease.[1]

• In a small chart review of 13 people with SIBO (bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine), herbal antimicrobial formulas containing berberine, barberry, black walnut and wormwood among other herbs cleared SIBO in 60% to 100% of people. The study was too small to draw firm conclusions.[6]