Can You Take Berberine With Metformin?

Answer

Thanks for reaching out! While there isn't a drug interaction per se between metformin and berberine, multiple studies, such as this one from Metabolism Journal, show that berberine can significantly lower blood glucose levels. While this can certainly be of benefit to diabetics, there is the risk that berberine might have additive effects when taken with other antidiabetic drugs, increasing the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Symptoms of hypoglycemia include:

• Confusion
• Sweating
• Fatigue
• Excess hunger
• Lightheadedness
• Headache
• Shakiness

The good news is that both metformin and berberine are very unlikely to cause hypoglycemia on their own, but before using them together, be sure to speak with your doctor so you can be monitored for side effects and so they know that changes in blood glucose levels may be attributable to the addition of berberine to your regimen.

Berberine With Metformin Details

Berberine is not a plant as is commonly thought, but an alkaloid that is found in the roots, rhizome, and bark of many different plants including:

• Goldenseal
• Goldthread
• Oregon grape
• Barberry species
• Phellodendron

Berberine is used for a variety of indications including canker sores, high cholesterol, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, berberine may have the most evidence for the treatment of diabetes. One large meta-analysis concluded that berberine can significantly reduce:

• HbA1c
• Fasting blood glucose
• Post-prandial glucose

The effective dose of berberine used in studies varies but is generally around 500 mg two to three times daily

While berberine may be effective in reducing glucose levels, care needs to be taken when used with other diabetic medications, especially ones that are known to cause hypoglycemia. Although metformin has a lower risk of hypoglycemia than other anti-diabetic agents such as sulfonylureas (e.g. glipizide), combining it with berberine still increases the risk. It would be prudent to discuss the use of berberine with your doctor if you take metformin or other antidiabetic drugs.

Having said the above, it should be noted that several studies have shown that berberine and metformin can safely be used together with good effects. One such study reported:

The hypoglycemic effect of berberine alone is not better than metformin. But berberine combined with metformin has good efficacy and safety in the treatment of T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus). The current clinical studies are low in methodology and reporting quality, which needs to be further proved by more high quality, large sample size and multi-center RCTs.

So, overall, it appears there could be a benefit in using berberine with metformin, but as there aren't many studies on the matter, it would be prudent to let your doctor know before starting both so you can be appropriately monitored.

Final Words

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