That’s the conclusion of Italian scientists after performing a
meta-analysis of studies looking at combined consumption of these two
herbal remedies.
Berberine occurs naturally in medicinal plants such as goldenseal and
Oregon grape, while silymarin is found in the seeds of the milk thistle
plant.
The scientists reviewed the findings of five randomised, double‐blind,
placebo‐controlled clinical trials (RCTs) – considered the gold-standard
of evidence. Results showed that co-consumption of berberine and
silymarin was associated with significant improvements in across several
cholesterol measurements.
The findings, which showed that the combination was associated with
reductions in total cholesterol of 25 mg/dl, of triglycerides of 28
mg/dl, and of LDL cholesterol of 29 mg/dl, while HDL cholesterol levels
were increased by 6 mg/dl, were published in the journal Phytotherapy
Research.
In addition to these benefits, the data also showed the herbal combo
produced significant reductions in blood glucose levels were observed,
with average decreases of 7.5 mg/dl.
A synergistic effect
The data suggest the two herbal remedies work best together.
“[Berberine] lipid‐lowering efficacy in humans is well‐known and
definitely confirmed by a previous meta‐analysis of 27 clinical studies
with overall 2,569 participants,” write the scientists from the
universities of Bologna, L’Aquila, and Palermo in Italy.
“In comparison with that meta‐analysis, our findings show that the
addition of silymarin to [berberine] is able to improve its positive
effect on lipid and glucose metabolism in humans, allowing for the
administration of lower doses of [berberine] and accordingly reducing
the associated risk of gastrointestinal discomfort which is demonstrably
dose related.
“As a matter of fact, considerations on tolerability of low doses of
[berberine] may also have important clinical implications, because it is
well known that hypercholesterolemia is an asymptomatic clinical
condition in which adherence and persistence on prescribed
lipid‐lowering medications are relatively low, and discontinuation rates
are even higher in presence of adverse events or drug reactions.
The studies analysed included data from 497 individuals and the length
of the studies was between three to 12 months. Doses of berberine were
500 or 1,000 mg/day; doses of silymarin doses were either 105 or 210
mg/day.
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