Berberine
Place in Therapy
Place in Therapy
From the evidence available, berberine may show antisecretory properties against ETEC, one of the main pathogens causing traveller’s diarrhea, and may reduce the volume of diarrhea in both ETEC and cholera related GI infections (1,2). Berberine may also be effective in treating Giardia lambila parasidic infections in children (3). It is deemed safe to use in all populations with very minor side effects in clinical trials, including only nausea and abdominal discomforts. However, due to the stronger evidence of other therapies, berberine should be only be considered when the first and second line options are contraindicated or unavailable. Furthermore, according to Health Canada, only the chloride salt forms of berberine are licensed as natural health products, but the sulfate forms were studied in trials; therefore, it may be harder to find the correct salt formulation and results are only extrapolated from the sulfate studies (4).
References:
From the evidence available, berberine may show antisecretory properties against ETEC, one of the main pathogens causing traveller’s diarrhea, and may reduce the volume of diarrhea in both ETEC and cholera related GI infections (1,2). Berberine may also be effective in treating Giardia lambila parasidic infections in children (3). It is deemed safe to use in all populations with very minor side effects in clinical trials, including only nausea and abdominal discomforts. However, due to the stronger evidence of other therapies, berberine should be only be considered when the first and second line options are contraindicated or unavailable. Furthermore, according to Health Canada, only the chloride salt forms of berberine are licensed as natural health products, but the sulfate forms were studied in trials; therefore, it may be harder to find the correct salt formulation and results are only extrapolated from the sulfate studies (4).
References:
- Khin-Maung-U, Myo-Khin, Nyunt-Nyunt-Wai, Aye-Kyaw, Tin-U. Clinical Trial of Berberine Watery Diarrhoea. BMJ. 1985 Dec; 291(6509) :1601-1605.
- Rabbani, GH, Butler T, Knight J, Sanyal SC, Alam K. Randomized Controlled Trial of Berberbine Sulfate Therapy for Diarrhea Due to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholera. J. Infect. Dis. 1987 May; 155(5):979-98
- Choudry VP, Sabir M, Bhide VN. Berberine in giardiasis. Indian Pediatr. 1972 Mar; 9:143-14
- Natural Standard: the authority on integrative medicine [database on the Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Natural Standard; 2013 [cited 20 March 2014]. Available from: http://www.naturalstandard.com.proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca/databases/herbssupplements/berberine.asp?.