5 Ways Berberine Can Lower Your Blood Sugar And Protect Against Diabetes

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Berberine is a compound extracted from several different plants, and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Scientific research has now found berberine to have a variety of rather impressive health benefits, the most significant being a reduction in blood sugar, which it achieves through many different targets.

Berberine is one of the few supplements with effectiveness comparable to that of pharmaceutical antidiabetic drugs like metformin and glibenclamide. Here are 5 ways in which this compound can protect against high blood sugar and diabetes.

1: Increased Insulin Secretion and Sensitivity

Insulin is the hormone that instructs cells to absorb glucose from the blood. It is secreted by beta cells in the pancreas in response to an increase in blood sugar. In type II diabetes, cells become resistant to the effects of insulin, meaning that more insulin is required to achieve a given reduction in blood sugar. Dysfunction and death of pancreatic beta cells is also seen in both type I and type II diabetes (though more relevant in the former), meaning that the body becomes less capable of producing insulin in response to a rise in blood sugar.

Research has shown berberine to be effective in both increasing cells’ sensitivity to the effects of insulin, and increasing insulin secretion in the pancreas. Berberine was found to increase the expression and sensitivity of the insulin receptor, and also appears to directly boost glucose uptake by upregulating GLUT1, one of the proteins responsible for transporting glucose into cells. In the pancreas, berberine appears to promote insulin secretion while also acting on a number of proteins to encourage the survival of beta cells.

2: Increased Sugar Breakdown

Cells consume glucose in a process called glycolysis, which allows them to produce the cellular fuel called ATP. Glycolysis is controlled by a ‘master regulator’ named AMPK, which responds to ATP levels. Berberine has been found to activate AMPK, which ‘tricks’ cells into responding as though ATP were running low. This causes them to ramp up the breakdown of glucose and blocks the storage of glucose in the form of glycogen.

These effects don’t stop with glucose metabolism: AMPK activation also promotes the breakdown of lipids, and reduces cholesterol and lipid synthesis.

3: Reduced Sugar Production

The liver is capable of producing sugars from non-carbohydrate sources including proteins and lipids. This is called gluconeogenesis, and is another process regulated by AMPK and that berberine appears to inhibit. Research also suggests that berberine can inhibit gluconeogenesis by affecting gene expression.

4: Reduced Absorption Of Carbohydrates In The Gut

Berberine inhibits α-Glucosidase, an intestinal enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates into their smaller subunits in the gut. The inhibition of this enzyme by berberine reduces the ability of the gut to absorb sugars. 

5: Healthier Gut Bacteria

The composition of our gut flora has a significant impact on how nutrients are absorbed, and it seems that changes in the composition of the gut microbiome can contribute to the development of type II diabetes by driving low-grade inflammation. Berberine has been found to increase the population of Bacteroidetes while reducing the population of Firmicutes in rats that were fed a high fat diet, and previous research in humans suggests that this is associated with a lower risk of obesity and diabetes.

Berberine also has antimicrobial activity against many bacteria, viruses and fungi that infect the gut, and may protect against diabetes by promoting overall gut health.