What Foods Have Berberine?

What foods have Berberine? In fact, what is Berberine? Berberine is not a food, but it is a naturally occurring compound found in the Berberis genus of shrubs that grow in temperate and subtropical regions.

For thousands of years, Berberine has been used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine.

Nature Made^® Better Absorption‡ Berberine Phytosome Capsules include a clinically studied Berberine ingredient to help support healthy glucose and lipid metabolism and cardiovascular health^◼, encapsulated in a phytosome matrix for better absorption.‡^️†

What is Berberine?

While you are most likely to find Berberine on a shelf at your supplement store, it originates in plants like the Indian Barberry, Goldenseal, and Oregon Grape.

Nature Made^®’s product is made using the extracts the natural compound Berberine from the roots of the Indian Barberry (aka Berberis aristata) and uses this clinically studied Berberine Phytosome in a supplement to support healthy glucose and lipid metabolism in older adults with a calorie-restricted diet. Nature Made^® Berberine also helps support cardiovascular health.^◼️†

Is Berberine safe? A Berberine supplement is considered safe for most individuals. Systematic reviews have shown Berberine to be a well-tolerated ingredient.[1,2] As always, discuss any new supplements you are considering taking with your preferred healthcare provider before you start.

Common Food & Plant Sources of Berberine

So, where do we generally get Berberine? Are there a bunch of Berberine foods? Berberine isn't commonly found in our diets, though there are a number of plants and herbs that contain this ingredient.

Plants Containing Berberine

Plants with Berberine are found in the Berberis genus and tend to grow in temperate and subtropical regions. For example, Goldenseal is a shrub found in North America that is used for various purposes by Indigenous Americans.[3]

Barberry, also known as Berberis vulgaris or European barberry, is another Berberis genus member producing edible fruit.

Oregon Grape (a bit of a misnomer, as they are not related to grapes) produces sour, seedy, but edible berries.[4] These plants are not commonly found in diets, though some cultures eat berberis berries more often than others.

Berberine is also found in the fruits of the wild sugar apple, or Rollinia deliciosa, an edible South American fruit.[5] Although Berberine can be found in many plants, most Berberine foods do not tend to be a standard part of the average diet in the United States.

Herbs with Berberine

Berberine is also found in some herbs, though not all fall into the Berberis genus. One such herb is Chinese goldthread, also known as Coptis chinensis.[6] Berberine is found in different parts of herbs but not always in the roots. For example, Berberine is contained in the bark of Phellodendrum amurense, the Amur cork tree.[5]

Some of these herbs have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, or their extracts are found in herbal supplements on store shelves. Nature Made^®’s supplement contains a Berberine extract from the Berberis aristata herb.

Health Benefits of Nature Made^®'s Berberine

Now that you know what foods have Berberine, which is nothing most of us would find at our local store, you might be interested in an easier and more accessible way to include Berberine in your daily routine.

Nature Made^® offers our new Better Absorption‡ Berberine Phytosome Capsules, which use Berberine from the root of the Berberis aristata plant to deliver some Berberine phytosome benefits.^†

Enhanced Absorption

Berberine is found in several plants in the Berberis genus, though many of those are not particularly bioavailable. To help with that, Nature Made^® uses an extracted ingredient in a phytosome matrix.

What exactly does that mean? A phytosome is a nutrient delivery mechanism that involves encapsulating the intended nutrient in a lipid layer to aid in the body's absorption. This lipid (fat) matrix makes the Berberine more bioavailable.

Nature Made^® uses the BERBEVIS^® phytosome to encapsulate Berberine in a phytosome matrix, increasing its bioavailability by five times that of standard Berberine hydrochloride. This delivery mechanism also means that Nature Made^®'s Berberine Phytosome has better absorption when compared to Berberine Hydrochloride (HCl) when taken on an empty stomach.^†

Clinically Studied Benefits

Nature Made^® Better Absorption‡ Berberine Phytosome Capsules use a clinically studied Berberine root extract. Berberine phytosome helps support healthy glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and cardiovascular health in older adults on a calorie-restricted diet.^†

Nature Made Makes Your Daily Schedule Easy

Nature Made^® Berberine Phytosome is an easy choice for those seeking a Berberine supplement to support their cardiovascular health and a healthy glucose and lipid metabolism.^◼️ When compared to regular Berberine Hydrochloride, Berberine Phytosome has five times the bioavailability and better absorption.‡^†

Can I take Berberine before bed? Always follow the suggested use when taking a dietary supplement; our Better Absorption‡ Berberine Phytosome Capsules recommend taking one capsule two times daily with water for at least two months. That means spacing out your doses; attaching them to a pre-existing schedule can make them easier to remember, like taking one before you brush your teeth in the morning and at night.

Please consult with your primary care provider or another healthcare professional before adding Berberine to your supplement routine, as they are best suited to give you personalized advice for your specific goals and will alert you to any conflicts with prescription medication that any supplement might have.

Subscribe and save to receive a 10% discount on your Better Absorption‡ Berberine Phytosome Capsules or other dietary supplements, along with free shipping direct to your door.

Berbevis and Indena Phytosome are registered trademarks of Indena S.p.A., Italy

◼️In older adults on a calorie-restricted diet.

‡ Compared to Berberine hydrochloride (HCl) when taken on an empty stomach.

† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

References

1. Ye Y, Liu X, Wu N, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Berberine Alone for Several Metabolic Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:653887. Published 2021 Apr 26. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.653887
2. Li Z, Wang Y, Xu Q, et al. Berberine and health outcomes: An umbrella review. Phytother Res. 2023;37(5):2051-2066. doi:10.1002/ptr.7806
3. Goldenseal. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Published March 2021. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/goldenseal
4. Daw S. Oregon Grape (U.S. National Park Service). www.nps.gov. Published December 2018. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/oregon-grape.htm
5. Gopenath Ts, Kaginelli SB, Basalingappa KM. BERBERINE AND ITS PHARMACOLOGY POTENTIAL: A REVIEW. ResearchGate. 2020;7(5):115-123. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346439412_BERBERINE_AND_ITS_PHARMACOLOGY_POTENTIAL_A_REVIEW
6. Golden Thread (Coptis chinensis) Root Extract. nih.gov. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://dsld.od.nih.gov/ingredient/Golden%20Thread%20%28Coptis%20chinensis%29%20Root%20Extract