Berberine Shrinks Arterial Plaque, New Study Finds

Berberine is a natural product that’s been used in Chinese medicine for over 3,000 years.

Scientists recently found berberine can decrease arterial plaque in the carotid artery by some 3.2% after 16 weeks of use.

They write, “…21 patients with atherosclerosis exhibited the average decrease of plaque score by 3.2% after oral BBR (500 mg, twice daily) for 4 months (*P < 0.05, n = 21).    

 

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Links to studies and videos mentioned:

 

Ma, S.-R. et al. Berberine treats atherosclerosis via a vitamine-like effect down-regulating Choline-TMA-TMAO production pathway in gut microbiota. Signal Transduct Target Ther 7, 207 (2022).

Cheng, H., Liu, J., Tan, Y., Feng, W. & Peng, C. Interactions between gut microbiota and berberine, a necessary procedure to understand the mechanisms of berberine. J Pharm Analysis 12, 541–555 (2022).

Patel, P. A bird’s eye view on a therapeutically ‘wonder molecule’: Berberine. Phytomedicine Plus (2021).

 

Episode Time Stamps:

00:00 Berberine has been used in medicine for 3,000 years.

00:23 Berberine treats atherosclerosis.

00:52 Berberine has been shown to regress plaque by 3.8% over 16 weeks.

01:14 Berberine has been used to treat bacterial-caused diarrhea.

01:34 It is a safe and effective treatment for hyperlipidemia treatment and type 2 diabetes.

02:14 Study dose 500 mg 2 times per day.

03:34 A reduction in TMAO was shown in a mouse study.

05:24 Berberine acts on intestinal bacteria.

07:04 Berberine may upregulate LDL receptors on the liver.