The Science Behind Berberine

Berberine

What it is: A yellow-colored polyphenol found in multiple plant species, which is supported by scientific research for its properties in lowering blood-sugar levels, improving insulin resistance, and also reducing the risks of cognitive impairment.

What it does:Acts on fasting glucose and improves insulin sensitivity by activating enzymes that regulate your blood-glucose level. It also reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in your cells, further inducing metabolic homeostasis.

What is Berberine?

Berberine is a polyphenol that can be found in the roots, rhizomes, and stem barks of many plant species. With a history of being used for over 2500 years in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, the natural supplement is a yellow compound also supported by scientific research for its multiple pharmacological properties, including lowering blood-sugar levels, improving insulin resistance, and reducing risks of cognitive impairment. Pubmed shows that research published on Berberine is on a steady rise, with over 630 papers published in 2020 alone.

Where can it be found in nature?

Many plant species contain Berberine including goldthread, Oregon grape, and barberry. Plants of this genus are often used against inflammation, infectious diseases, diabetes, constipation, and other pathologies. While multiple studies revealed the beneficial effects of supplemental berberine and barberry extracts, the relative amount of fresh or dried barberries to be consumed remains unclear. Another reason to consider our Stabiliser supplement!

What are its primary functions and benefits?

Acting at molecular level, Berberine’s health benefits have been intensively studied in clinical trials for lowering blood sugar, lipids, high cholesterol and hypertension. Essentially, it activates an enzyme needed to decrease insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance occurs when your body needs more and more insulin to function properly - the leading cause of Type II diabetes, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases globally. Decreasing insulin resistance not only reduces the risk of such chronic diseases, but it also optimises metabolism and weight management by stimulating better glucose uptake, and the effective usage of fats as fuel.

Furthermore, no significant difference has been observed between the effects of Berberine and other Type II diabetes prescription drugs. In fact, both studies show similar declines in HbA1c levels (a marker of glucose management in diabetics), with no remarkable side effects from Berberine. As a matter of fact, a linear correlation between circulating HbA1c levels and cognitive decline (regardless of diabetic status) has also been observed. Thus, supplementing with Berberine will not only improve your blood-sugar levels, but also enhance your immune system and promote healthy brain cell production.

Why do we use Berberine in our supplements?

We chose Berberine because of its potential to activate the crucial enzyme AMPK, which essentially generates the same benefits as exercising, dieting or weight management - the healthy lifestyle modifications you know you should implement when it comes to improving your health, but which can sometimes still be challenging. On the plus side, Berberine has the same effects as increasing exercise and restricting your calorie intake altogether.

Additionally, when used in combination with other agents, Berberine has consistently exhibited multiple pharmacological and therapeutic actions, such as antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects, protective action on the cardiovascular system, liver and kidney, endothelial relaxation, as well as regulator of glucose metabolism. This is yet another major reason why we chose Berberine to partner with the other two ingredients in our Stabiliser supplement. For instance, Berberine acts by lowering your fasting glucose levels, while Reducose on the other hand, will act on your post-meal glucose levels.

As higher doses of Berberine can interfere with other medications, our Stabiliser supplement contains the ideal concentration of Berberine that will help extend your lifespan and metabolism without causing any discomfort.

Sources

  1. Rhizoma Coptidis and Berberine as a Natural Drug to Combat Aging and Aging-Related Diseases via Anti-Oxidation and AMPK Activation - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5758350/
  2. Gut microbiome-related effects of berberine and probiotics on type 2 diabetes (the PREMOTE study) | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18414-8
  3. Berberine ameliorates cellular senescence and extends the lifespan of mice via regulating p16 and cyclin protein expression https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31773901/
  4. Berberine and probiotics combo successful in reducing blood sugar level in diabetic patients – China 12-week RCT https://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Article/2020/11/23/Berberine-and-probiotics-combo-successful-in-reducing-blood-sugar-level-in-diabetic-patients-China-12-week-RCT
  5. Comparison Among Garlic, Berberine, Resveratrol, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Genus Zizyphus, Hesperidin, Red Beetroot, Catha edulis, Po https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X20921623
  6. Berberine Prolongs Life Span and Stimulates Locomotor Activity of Drosophila melanogaster - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4498586/
  7. Berberine in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3478874/
  8. Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18397984/
  9. Berberine enhances the AMPK activation and autophagy and mitigates high glucose-induced apoptosis of mouse podocytes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27887947/
  10. Clinical Applications for Berberine | Natural Medicine Journal https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/clinical-applications-berberine