Berberine-
As berberine is derived from plants, it is considered a nutraceutical. As a consequence, there are few randomized clinical trials and little pharma or government interest in the drug. Probably because there is no profit motive
It acts like metformin so it reduces insulin and lowers blood glucose. It is anti-microbial and anti inflammatory & increases leukocyte count. My oncologist said that people who take metformin have a lower rate of cancer in general but he would not prescribe metformin. Berberine is sometimes called, “The poor man’s metformin” and I have taken it for 13 years.
- Berberine – I take 500 mg at lunch & 500 mg at dinner
Some people with Parkinson’s will get considerable relief from berberine: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24535622
You have to check interactions with other drug, esp. statins. It lowers Blood Pressure in many people, so if the person is on blood pressure medication be cautious.
The strength of the effect of berberine seems to vary depending on genetics, Everyone is different. so you have to initiate slowly and keep checking lab values, plus make adjustments to other medications as necessary. Magnesium, insulin levels, lipids, blood chemistry and zinc have to be monitored.
Berberine seems to work particularly well in persons with insulin resistance.Before you start the berberine, check your magnesium levels. If they are not at least 2.4, start supplementing with something like Slow-Mag before you even start the berberine at 200 mg daily. For patients with certain genetics, the effect on the circulation is remarkable and just about immediate. The small blood vessels stop constricting, restoring blood circulation to the tissues, and the magnesium levels will therefore fall. In heart patients, this can induce serious results. Since blood sugar is dropping, medications have to be adjusted with speed in certain individuals. In these people in later stages, the lipids are high, and those levels drop rapidly too, which enhances the overall effect. Also you have to watch kidney function and potassium levels, because the blood pressure drops quite a bit. If the person is on something like ACE inhibitors, and if the person is not able to exercise ,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25498346
Meta-analysis of the effect and safety of berberine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemia and hypertension.
Twenty-seven randomized controlled clinical trials were included with 2569 patients
Berberine helped with all of these:
- FPG (fasting blood glucose)
- PPG (postprandial plasma glucose)
- HbA1c – berberine with lifestyle intervention tended to lower the level of FPG, PPG and HbA1c than lifestyle intervention alone or placebo;
- Blood pressure berberine with lifestyle intervention tended to lower the level of blood pressure more than the lifestyle intervention alone
- Total Cholesterol and LDL-C
- raising the level of HDL-C
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18459128 p53 Cooperates berberine-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis of non-small cell human lung cancer cells in vitro and tumor xenograft growth in vivo.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321216/ Research shows that Berberine is quite effective against pancreatic cancer- as effective as the only known chemo drug for pancreatic cancer. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24843889 Berberine induces apoptosis in human multiple myeloma cell line U266 through hypomethylation of p53 promoter. Berberine has multiple pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammation and anticancer activity. It reduces the proliferation and induces apoptosis in the multiple myeloma cell line… the p53 signalling pathway related genes were altered…results show that berberine can repress the expression of DNMT1 and DNMT3B, and the alteration of p53 dependent signal pathway in human multiple melanoma cell U266. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096730 The above article also shows that Berberine suppresses MM growth. I think it is the long version of the abstract.