Origin & tradition
Berberine is the active alkaloid in Huang Lian (黄连) and related herbs, long used in Chinese medicine for digestive and heat-clearing applications.
Eastern tradition · Practitioner Supply
Berberine 小檗碱 · 黄连素
An alkaloid from Chinese herbs (Coptis / Huang Lian) with human RCTs on metabolic health and an AMPK/sirtuin longevity rationale.
Why longevity buyers care
Key active: Berberine (isoquinoline alkaloid).
Berberine activates AMPK — the same energy-sensing pathway as metformin — and is studied for SIRT1 activation and autophagy, with human RCTs on glucose, lipids and metabolic syndrome.
Evidence summary
What the research actually says
85Evidence confidence
Extensive human-trial evidence125 randomized controlled trials · 102 meta-analyses / systematic reviews
Human RCTs (metabolic syndrome, NAFLD); mechanistic longevity rationale
Berberine activates AMPK — the same energy-sensing pathway as metformin — and is studied for SIRT1 activation and autophagy, with human RCTs on glucose, lipids and metabolic syndrome.
126registered clinical trials reference this intervention
3selected from 11+ PubMed papers (longevity / aging angle)
Key active: Berberine chloride (C20H18ClNO4) · ChEMBL CHEMBL12089 · max clinical phase 1 · natural product
According to PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov: trial counts from ClinicalTrials.gov, peer-reviewed literature from PubMed, compound data from EMBL-EBI ChEMBL. Counts auto-refresh weekly; last checked 2026-06-06. They include trials across many endpoints, not only longevity.
Informational only — not medical advice, a treatment claim, or a substitute for a qualified clinician. Evidence strength varies; we show mixed and null results on purpose.
Compare the evidence
How Berberine stacks up
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