I Like Berberine

[Bolt_Upright]

I need to get organized. I've been slacking in following my protocols and really slacking on documenting them. I guess I was just doing a long n of 1 test. I'll start working on making sense of things.

Based on my high school educated mind's belief in what is causing my REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and associated odd symptoms that have not been diagnosed as PD, berberine is one of my favorite supplements. I believe chronic infections may be at the root of my problems. Berberine is effective at suppressing a number of bacterial and viral infections.

Anyway, my cat came in and I am going to bed. Here are some quick notes. Lots of good info in that paper.

Berberine: A Promising Treatment for Neurodegenerative Diseases 2022 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

Berberine, as a natural alkaloid compound, is characterized by a diversity of pharmacological effects. In recent years, many researches focused on the role of berberine in central nervous system diseases. Among them, the effect of berberine on neurodegenerative diseases has received widespread attention, for example Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and so on. Recent evidence suggests that berberine inhibits the production of neuroinflammation, oxidative, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. These effects can further reduce neuron damage and apoptosis.

Other Different stuff on Berberine:

Research suggests peptides from the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus may accelerate the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, a protein linked to Parkinson's disease, potentially acting as a trigger or contributing factor.

Berberine, a natural compound, shows promising antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), including methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA), potentially by damaging cell membranes and inhibiting biofilm formation.

Berberine, a natural compound, shows promise in inhibiting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication and potentially treating EBV-associated cancers by targeting viral proteins and pathways involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis.

[Rufous2]

MRSA is really nasty stuff. It's resistant to antibiotics and can cause life-threatening infections, but the probiotic Bacillus subtilis can help reduce colonization; nih.gov/news-events/nih-res...

Interestingly, B. subtilis may also inhibit alpha-synuclein; pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

[Steegen in reply to Rufous2]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

A test I did years back suggested I am a carrier for staph in my nose. It was always thought of as very hard to get rid of.

Have you come across a source for this probiotic?

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Steegen]

I'm glad you asked. Right now I am using Nutricost Berberine HCl 600mg, 60 Vegetarian Capsules - Gluten Free & Non-GMO amazon.com/dp/B079GH6V2Z?re... from Amazon, but...

I think I will switch back to Swanson. It is cheaper and it just occurred to me I may have been doing better on Swanson (Swanson was out for a while. That is why I switched to the stuff from Amazon). Swanson Premium Berberine swansonvitamins.com/p/swans...

[Rufous2 in reply to Steegen]

The exact strain used in the roundworm study is sold as "bio-kult Mind." It's a bit pricey, and in the study itself they say multiple strains have the protective effect. There are quite a few available on amazon.

[Smokeypurple in reply to Rufous2]

Uk source hollandandbarrett.com/shop/...

[Steegen in reply to Rufous2]

Thanks!

I am most interested in the human study of staph carriers. With a bit of digging, it appears the probiotic strain they used in that study is "Sporevia (MB40)" and owned by an Irish company called the Kerry Group. Their website lists this is intellectual property but doesn't seem to have it commercially available yet.

Good to know multiple strains have protective effects, maybe a general bacillus subtilis strain would be the way to go.

[Smokeypurple in reply to Steegen]

I'm going to try it in the meantime. Let us know if you ever discover a commercial source for theSporevia MB40.

[Rufous2 in reply to Smokeypurple]

Kerry Group must be licensing MB40 to other probiotic makers, because it's found in this product;

amazon.com/Probiotics-Diges...

It's combined with B. coagulans, but maybe a more complete search would turn up something with MB40 as the sole ingredient. Or maybe contact Kerry Group to find out who they're selling it to.

[Rufous2 in reply to Rufous2]

Forgot to say.... nasal colonization used to be considered the primary source of S. aureus. Antibiotics applied to the nares was used to suppress it, but it would inevitably recur. Research suggests that's because the gut harbors it and provides a source of reinfection for the nose. So it seems likely that using a nasal antibiotic (at least initially) along with ingesting B. subtilis would go a long way toward suppressing S. aureus.

[Steegen in reply to Rufous2]

Thanks!

I've had a quick search around, and unfortunately it seems that the probiotics with MB40 all seem to be in combination with other probiotics, and only list the total probiotic numbers. So they say 15 CFU, with various strains listed, and the last strain listed being MB40. So it does seem hard to tell if they have much MB40 in them.

Its possible to order a probiotic that has B. Subtilis as the only ingredient, such as the Bio Kult Mind, and others on Amazon / iHerb etc, but that wouldn't be the MB40 strain.

I'll keep digging and post if I come up with anything better.

[Rufous2 in reply to Steegen]

For what it's worth, I found this on reddit;

"I want to thank you and others for the great info about OptiBiome Bacillus Subtilis MB40. I have been trying to find a solution for my son's recurrent staph. I bought the AmeoLife "Probiotic with Added Turmeric" but the label did not make it clear how much of the B. Subtilis was in the capsules. I wrote to their customer care and received this, hope it helps:"

Each serving (2 capsules) contains

15 Billion CFU Bacillus Subtilis MB40 (Opti-Biome)

330 Million CFU Bacillus Coagulans MTCC5856 (LactoWise)

[Rufous2 in reply to Steegen]

With apologies to Bolt for the hijacking of this thread......I also ran across this on reddit;

"There are several strains, make sure it’s MB40 or HU58. (The strain needs to produce enough fengycin to be an effective anti-staphylococcal agent. HU58 and MB40 are effective strains.)"

You might want to browse reddit some, as HU58 is mentioned by several people, and it's available as a single strain.

[Rufous2 in reply to Steegen]

It's interesting to me that B. subtilis is used as a microbial fungicide in horticulture, since PWP seem susceptible to fungal infections.

[MBAnderson]

Tanks Dave

[Ashti]

Fun fact (anecdote?): After learning about Berberine, we started eating dried barberries daily both in our muesli and in our muffins instead of adding another capsule to the stack. They are now preferred over raisins for their bright flavour.

[Pixelpixie]

I refer too ConsumerLab to suss out quality supplements. Many Berberines are below the stated dose or contain contaminants. Be careful of your choice

[Pixelpixie in reply to Pixelpixie]

One of their top picks is Solaray vital extracts, which is what I’ll be buying

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Pixelpixie]

Interesting. SOLARAY Berberine 500mg - Berberine Supplement for a Healthy, Active Lifestyle - with Berberine HCl from Indian Barberry $33 for 100 amazon.com/Solaray-Berberin...

[Todd-pw]

thank you for your information and sharing your thoughts and experiences

[tiredpuppy]

Berberine does not absorb well. There are forms to make it more bioavailable, such as phytosome. It also can thin the blood, so some need to watch for that. Research before you take it. Some recommend it be taken in pulses, some weeks on and some off.

[Nuthatcher]

Is this drug on the market yet