Study confirms berberine benefits for diabetics
"Berberine cannot provide adequate single drug therapy for all diabetic patients because the patients in the present study had relatively mild diabetes," they say, but it may be at least useful as an add-on to standard therapy.
Dr. Guang Ning, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai and colleagues randomized 116 diabetes patients to receive one gram of berberine daily or placebo for 3 months.
Fasting blood sugar fell from markedly in patients on the herb, they report. Among the patients on berberine, average hemoglobin A1C -- a measure of long-term blood sugar control -- dropped from 7.5 percent to 6.6 percent.
Patients on the herb also showed significant reductions in total and "bad" LDL cholesterol. Blood pressure also fell in patients taking berberine.
Patients on the herb lost 2.3 kilograms (5.1 pounds), on average, compared to 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds) for the placebo group.
All of the differences seen among patients on berberine were significantly greater than those for patients on placebo.
No serious side effects were seen among patients in the study, although patients taking berberine were more likely to report constipation, and two patients in the berberine group had their dosage reduced for this reason.
Given the benefits of berberine in lowering blood sugar, cholesterol, body weight, and blood pressure, "we speculate that berberine may be used for patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome," the researchers conclude.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, July 2008.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.