The berberine that I got through Amazon was
overly expensive berberine sulfate-waste of money!I'm doing okay on glipizide ER,Metformin and Natrol Carb Intercept.
Live and learn
Eddie

Where in the US are you, Cajunboy47?
I have been to about 20 Chinese Herbal shops today; none had Berberine Hcl.
Many carried Huang Lian Su which is a root (Goldenthread) from which Berberine is extracted, but I could not find Berberine itself.

I'm in Louisiana, but get my berberine in China. I'm leaving tonight and will try to get some Chinese Exporters of this stuff to get it here some kind of way.. I haven't found it in its pure form here either.

One Chinese plant that will assist me and is interested said they're one of the largest producers of berberine hydrochloride and they don't currently have a U.S. contract to export it here.
I don't know how far I'll get in my dealings, but I'll plug along as far as I can while in China.

Ron

I need it for a different purpose. It is used for treating intestinal parasites, and the strain of Giradia that I need it for is Flagyl-resistant
I only need a few hundred tablets.
Have a good flight and good luck.

Bye, Cajunboy! Hope you'll find a way to keep in touch with us while you're there.
Sending you my best wishes for your business ventures and in bringing back your girl friend.
Glennette

My Berberine is not Pure...

I have learned that it also contains two other ingredients:

Magnesium........... Magnesium has been found to improve insulin's response to dietary sugar, and improve the action of insulin in regulating blood sugar levels. Magnesium deficiency seems to be extremely common amongst diabetics, which makes it very important for them to supplement.....the funny part is that the berberine here is sold to cure diarrhea, so I'm not sure why they put the magnesium in it, but magnesium is probably beneficial for diabetics.

Amylum........ This is simply a starch and probably helps as a binder in making the pill

Anyone want to see my latest glucose and diet results, please visit my journal.

I've not visited any factories yet.

Ron

Cajunboy, I can't PM you because I don't have enough posts to use PM yet. I have a small supply of Berberine HCl with a certificate of analysis saying 97.78% pure. I've been using it for awhile now and stumbled on this thread. I'm getting ready to place another order as this supplier is not going to carry it anymore when this lot runs out, so I'm going to grab a bunch while I can.

Drop me an email at brian at blakley dot us (trying to evade the spam bots by breaking up the address) and I'll give you the details if you're interested.

Wow! The biggest problem is getting Berberine HCL in the USA, here in China, it is used to cure diarrhea and is easily available.

I'm interested in the details, but sorry to hear they'll discontinue supplying it.

I've had great results with the Berberine when used in combination with a Sugar Blocker that goes under the name brand of D-Care...

I think you should post the supplier's contact information here and maybe if enough folks would contact to show interest, the supplier might continue carrying the product..

I'll be posting something soon in "Success Stories"... watch for it!

BBlakley seems to want to supply it to all of us for $60 per 150g and would not disclose the source.
The main question for me is what is the difference between Berberine HCL and Huang Lian Su if there is any.
Cajunboy, can you show this photo to the Chinese experts and ask them if it is the same thing?
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg....84_1966_8033664
Anyone knows the answer?
Thanks

I've contacted them and asked them about continuing it. They have plenty of demand for it by the market-segment of supplement-minded people they currently serve (not diabetics), but they aren't interested in carrying it anymore. They didn't answer my question about why they didn't want to carry it when they run out of their existing supply, but my speculation is that they are being nice to another supplement maker who's product it was competing with (possibly one with better profit margin).

As I mentioned to Alpine in email, this is "bulk" Berberine HCl, a bright yellow, nasty tasting powder. In order to use it you really need to put it in capsules or something as it stains quite strongly like turmeric does (it actually looks very similar to turmeric) and although I haven't tried it, the taste is supposed to be unbearable. I bought a little do-it-yourself capsule filling tray from www.capsuline.com which I use for the Berberine and other bulk supplements. This is probably more hassle than it is worth to most folks.

I think it is not safe to put it in capsules yourself, due to quality control issues. It is nasty in powdered form and if you bite into the herb itself.

I think it absorbs better with the magnesium and amlyum. I'm still trying to find a supplier here to supply me in the USA. It is not easy to find. Berberine is still not tested to be effective as a diabetic aide.

For me, I attribute it to controlling BG, cholesterol, blood pressure and weight loss... check my post ....

It was in "success stories" but it is now posted in the diabetes forum as it was moved, perhaps the forum moderator thought it was best.....

Again, Brian, just post the information about where you got your berberine HCL... just because you did not have success doesn't mean someone else won't. I think if you reply without posting it, you're all hype! I hope I'm wrong... I think these boards are for sharing, not hoarding.... If ever there's a buck in it for me, I'll not use these boards to profit off of people trying to share their story as we're all here to help one another, not exploit anyone else.....

The old name for Berberine Hydrochloride is Huang Lian Su...

The new name is: Yan Suan Xiao Cai Jian Pian

It is carried under many name brands, probably some still using the old name. There might be slight differences in preparation but more than likely any brand you buy will have at least 95% purity of the Berberine Hydrochloride...

by the way, in China, a bottle of 100 pills with a strength of 100 mg per pill sells for 2.7 yuan per bottle, which is about 37 cents usd....

Many medicines and herbs are sold in China at a fraction of the cost in the USA, so, even if you find Berberine HCL in the USA, don't be surprised if a bottle of 100 pills at 100mg strength doesn't sell for about $8 to $10 a bottle.... All I know is I plan to go home with about 150 bottles of it in my luggage, for my own use over the next 2 years or so...

Well, Huang Lian Su, exactly the same package as appeared in the link above is widely available in Chinese herbal stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most sell a package of 12 bottles (12 tablets per bottle, each 100mg) for about $5. Each vile contains 12 very yellow and bitter round tablets. It is also available on the Internet for a slightly higher price. Clearly it is much cheaper in China, but for those of us without connections there, it could be a relatively reasonable temporary solution.
But I have no way of verifying that it is exactly the same thing as Berberine HCL. When I mentioned the name Yan Suan Xiao Cai Jian Pian and showed photos of a Berberine HCL package, no one in Chinatown knew what I was talking about.
That is why I wasn't sure if Huang Lian Su was the same as Berberine HCL.
The package has the following info on the back:
Supplement Facts:
Each serving provides 100mg
Indian Goldthread (rhizome) 95mg
Other ingredients: Corn Starch

It is manufactured by Hubei Yichang Minkang

That is all the info I have. Cajunboy, do you still believe it is the same as what you have been taking?
Thanks

Alpine
Goldthread is one of a few plants from which berberine may
be extracted-it grows in northern USA,China,India.
100 mg of goldthread appears to be considerably less than
the 500 mg per that Cajun uses.Also doesn't appear to be
berberine HCL.I tried berberine sulfate a few weeks ago-
for me,it was worthless.It was overly expensive and it wasn't
berberine hcl.
Bye for now
Eddie

Alpine,

12 pills for $5 is not cheap when you consider I consume 15 pills a day. Wow!

I will try to take a photo of what I use and provide a link for you to see. My bottles are completely in Chinese except for the English "Berberine Hydrochloride". It might be a few days before I can do this. If it is Berberine sulfate you're using, it is useless.

Results are everything though, so if you have it and try it just monitor and see. But, at smaller than 500mg and less than 3 times a day, it loses its effectiveness rapidly and I do use it in combination with two other herbs. I also use D-Care brand "Sugar Blocker, available on the Internet and Mai Wei Di Huang Wan, also available on the Internet.

Berberine does come from about 5 or 6 different plants if not more than that. In the USA, there is a company that puts out a product called Goldenseal, which comes from the goldenthread herb, but I've only seen it in a sulfate, or haven't been able to determine which it is...

Keep trying to locate it and at a good price, it is very worth taking as it also lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and helps with weight loss. I am starting an email campaign here to contact Chinese suppliers and manufactures to get them interested in landing a contract with someone in the USA.

I don't think I can afford a start up investment at this time and learning the ins and outs of import/export is tough as this stuff is regulated somewhat and my fiancee would probably need a medical license in the USA before we could do any such thing and that might be another 2 years or so from now. I have the ambition, but I lack the know how and the bucks...

But, I have to say this; I truly believe this will be used by many people in the future as it gets more testing for effectiveness and safety. I think it will be proven to be one of the most effective herbs to control diabetes, but in conjunction with other herbs or at least one other herb....