Berberine for weight loss

Keywords

Berberine, obesity, weight loss, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia.

What is berberine?
Berberine (BBR) is an alkaloid (certain plant compounds with drug-like actions)
present in the plants such as Berberis vulgaris, Hydrastis canadensis, Berberis
aristata, Coptis chinensis, etc. and is traditionally used in the Ayurvedic and Chinese
medicine.1

The use of berberine was first recorded in the ancient Chinese medical book “The
divine farmer's materia medica”.2

Benefits of berberine for weight loss

1. Berberine Reduces the Rate of Gluconeogenesis and thereby Assists in Weight
Loss- An Animal Study

It is proven in an animal study that the berberine exerted an anti-hyperglycemic

(lowering the glucose level) and anti-dyslipidemic (stabilizing the lipid levels) effects
in the rats that were fed with a high fat diet-

The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were established in the rats that were
fed with a high fat diet. When these rats were treated daily with the berberine for a 16
week period there was a significant reduction in their body weight and in their fasting
blood glucose level.

It was observed that the rate of the gluconeogenesis (a series of biological reactions
that form glucose from substrates other than carbohydrates) pathway was significantly
decreased in the NAFLD rats that were treated with the berberine. These results
confirm that the berberine supports weight loss.3

A study shows that the berberine is useful in maintaining the glucose homeostasis
(stable levels of glucose). It demonstrated that the body glucose level got elevated in
the diabetic rats whereas the berberine treatment decreased the fasting and
postprandial blood glucose level.4

1
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000629521200500X
2

https://www.worldcat.org/title/divine-farmers-materia-medica-a-translation-of-the-shen-nong-ben-cao-jing/oclc
/41048949
3
https://bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12902-017-0165-7
4
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00042/full#B32
Since an excess glucose level in the blood got reduced upon treatment with berberine,
there were no chances of fat formation from the surplus glucose. This helped in
weight loss.

What it means
Berberine was found to cause reduction in the fasting blood glucose level and
decreased the rate of gluconeogenesis pathway. This helped in weight loss in obese
rats.

2. Berberine Decreases the Symptoms of Insulin Resistance and Assists in

Weight Loss- An Animal Study

In the pathological condition of insulin resistance, the body cells are unable to sense
the hormone insulin. The ratio of the serum levels of the enzymes namely alanine
transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are used to determine the
insulin resistance in non-obese people or overweight people.5

It was observed that in the rats that were fed with a high fat diet and were made obese,
the treatment with berberine decreased the body weight as well as reduced the serum
levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) which
indicated low chances of developing insulin resistance.6

What it means
The above study demonstrated that the berberine decreased the body weight as well as
reducing the symptoms of insulin resistance.

3. The Antimicrobial Activity of Berberine Results in Weight Loss- An Animal

Study

It is shown that berberine helps in weight loss by reducing certain microbial diversity
present in the gut and simultaneously enriches the gut with short-chain fatty acid
(SCFA) producing bacteria.

It was found that certain class of microorganisms present in the gut of the obese rats
were killed by the treatment with berberine and the gut of these rats were enriched
with certain classes of SCFA producing bacteria.7

The variation in the gut microbes is an important factor in the development of

metabolic diseases. For example the endotoxin-producing strain Enterobacter
cloacae B29 that was isolated from the gut of an obese human caused obesity and
insulin resistance in germfree mice (mice containing no living microbes in them).8

5
https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-11-117
6

http://www.phcog.com/article.asp?issn=0973-1296;year=2017;volume=13;issue=52;spage=677;epage=682;aulas
t=Li
7
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep14405
8
https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2012153
The SCFAs are known to maintain a balance between lipid synthesis and lipid
degradation. The blood glucose level gets decreased either by decreasing the rate of
gluconeogensis in the liver or by increasing the gut hormones that regulate the blood
glucose level.9

Thus the SCFAs produced by the microbes localized in the gut plays an important role
in weight loss.

What it means
Berberine selectively kills the obesity causing bacteria and enriches the gut with the
SCFA producing bacteria and helps in weight loss.

4. Berberine Activates Metabolism in Human NAFLD Patients and Assists in the

Weight Loss- A Human Study

In the pathological condition non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there is fat
accumulation in hepatic cells and an impaired glucose and lipid metabolism. A study
demonstrates the benefits of berberine in the human patients with NAFLD:

In the human patients treated with berberine, there was a decrease in the hepatic fat
content and in the liver enzymes such as the alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate
aminotransferase (AST). There was a decrease in the body weight in the berberine
treated subjects.

There was an increased hepatic expression of energy metabolism related genes

following the treatment with berberine. This resulted in reduction of liver fat and
accounted for the therapeutic effects of berberine.10

What it means
Berberine reduces the fat accumulation in the liver and activates energy metabolism.
This resulted in a weight loss in the human NAFLD patients.

5. Berberine Helps in the Energy Utilization and Thereby Combats the Weight
Gain Induced by Other Drugs- An Animal Study

The human antipsychotic (a drug to treat mental illness or psychosis) drug olanzapine
has an adverse effect such as weight gain. A study shows that in the rats treated with
the olanzapine and berberine there was a reduction in the olanzapine induced weight
gain-

It was shown that the drug olanzapine increased the expression of genes, in the white
adipose cells, responsible for adipogenesis and lipogenesis. The berberine treatment
prevented the olanzapine induced accumulation of white adipose cells.

9
http://www.jlr.org/content/54/9/2325.full
10
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134172
The olanzapine treatment reduced the expression of genes related to the
thermogenesis (heat production) in the brown fat cells whereas the berberine
treatment caused an increased expression of these genes and reversed the effect. This
shows that berberine promoted the energy expenditure in olanzapine treated rats.11

What it means
Berberine activates the genes responsible for catabolism and helps in the utilization of
stored energy. This assists weight loss.

6. Berberine Lowers the Lipid Levels in Obese Human Subjects and Helps in
Weight Loss- A Human Study

It was found that though the berberine accounted for the weight loss in obese human
subjects there was a pronounced reduction in cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Hyperlipidemia is a common condition associated with obesity and the depletion of
the lipids by berberine treatment helps in controlling the obesity.12

What it means
Berberine reduces the cholesterol and triglyceride level in the blood of obese human
patients and assists in weight loss.

7. Berberine Prevents Fat Accumulation in the Connective Tissue and Helps in

Weight Loss- An in vitro Study

It is a known fact that accumulation of triacylglycerol (TAG) in adipocytes (the cells

present in the connective tissue and that stores fat) causes obesity. The enzymes
namely adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) helps
in hydrolysis of triacylglycerol.

A study has shown that when the 3T3-L1 cell lines that were differentiated to
adipocytes were treated with berberine the intracellular concentration of
triacylglycerol was decreased.

It was also observed that berberine increased the expression of phosphorylated

hormone-sensitive lipase (p-HSL) and ATGL in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes.
This showed the possible role of berberine in causing the anti-obese activity.13

What it means
It was shown that berberine increased the expression of enzymes that degraded the
triacylglycerol and a possible way that helps in weight loss.

11
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093310#pone.0093310-Hu3
12
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711312001870
13
https://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12944-016-0383-4
8. The Berberine Included in a Nutritional Diet Works Similar to its Drug Based
Form & Helps in Weight Loss - A Human Study

A study shows the effects of a human diet supplemented with berberine, probiotics,
antioxidants, phytosterols, soy, fish oil, pea, and whey proteins. This nutraceutical
supplementation resulted in the decrease in body mass, fat mass and total cholesterol
of the human subjects.14

What it means
The human diet that included berberine lowered the cholesterol level in blood,
reduced the body mass, and resulted in weight loss.

Dosage for weight loss

The rats having the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were treated with 150 mg
berberine per kg body weight per day for 16 week period and this helped in their lipid
metabolism resulting in weight loss.15

The berberine (150 mg/kg) was daily administered to the rats of BBR group by
intragastric administration for 4 weeks which lowered the serum levels of alanine
transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) which indicated low
chances of developing insulin resistance.16

There was a weight loss in human NAFLD patients when berberine was administered
orally 30 minutes before meal at a dosage of 500 mg and three times a day (according
to the Chinese Pharmacopeia).17

A supplementation of 333 mg (a capsule) berberine 3 times daily with meals resulted

in weight loss in the tested human subjects.18

Precautions
A study quotes that there were mild adverse effects due to the berberine treatment in
human obese patients. The most common side effects were anorexia, upset stomach,
diarrhea, and constipation. There were no serious adverse effects such as the
congestive heart failure, bone fractures, and liver toxicity.19

14
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjpp-2016-0704#.WsHseohubIU
15
https://bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12902-017-0165-7
16

http://www.phcog.com/article.asp?issn=0973-1296;year=2017;volume=13;issue=52;spage=677;epage=682;aulas
t=Li
17
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134172
18
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjpp-2016-0704#.WsHseohubIU
19
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134172
Conclusion
The naturally occurring plant alkaloid berberine has been tested to treat obesity in
animal models as well as in human trials. The main therapeutic action of berberine is
mainly due to its antimicrobial nature.

While berberine selectively kills certain microbes present in the gut of an organism, it
simultaneously enriches the gut with microbes and thus helps in reducing the
symptoms of obesity.

The berberine does not have any serious side effects as opposed to certain commonly
available drugs used for body weight reduction.

The role of berberine in increasing the expression of ATGL and HSL enzymes that
are involved in hydrolysis of triacylglycerol shows its anti-obese activity.20

20
https://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12944-016-0383-4