An alkaloid obtained, as a bitter, yellow substance, from the root of the barberry, gold thread, and other plants.
Berberine is a plant alkaloid found in such herbs as berberis, goldenseal, and coptis chinensis, usually in their roots, rhizomes, stems, and bark. It is nutritionally helpful against fungal infections, candida, yeast, parasites, and bacterial/viral infections. Although berberine has been tested and used in diabetes, prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and leukemia, it has not been researched thouroughly with humans.