Berberine
Of 479 on-market berberine products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 500 mg, and 91.6% list Berberine HCl (Hydrochloride) as the primary form.
Form share
Of 462 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Berberine on the market today.
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| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berberine HCl (Hydrochloride) | Tier 1 | 423 | 91.6% |
| Berberine Sulfate | Unrated | 21 | 4.5% |
| Berberis aristata extract (source-plant labeling) | Tier 2 | 18 | 3.9% |
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (mg), among 377 products with a disclosed amount.
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- 26.5% of products fall below the fairy-dust threshold (200 mg, 20% of the studied low dose).
- 21.1% of products don't disclose an amount because Berberine is declared inside a proprietary blend.
Where does your dose rank?
Enter a per-serving dose (mg) to see exactly how it compares to the 377 on-market berberine products with a disclosed amount. The chart above groups doses into deciles; this looks up the exact percentile for one number.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
Search interest over time
How often people search for berberine on Google, US only, the last 5 years. This is public interest, not DSLD label data — a spike here doesn't necessarily line up with anything on this page, and Google's own index (100 = that term's peak popularity in the chosen window) is relative, not an absolute search-volume count.
Or see this search directly on trends.google.com.
Forms explained
The form used in the overwhelming majority of clinical trials, including the metformin-comparison trial and most diabetes/lipid meta-analysis literature -- despite reported low oral bioavailability, it has the deepest outcome-level human evidence.
Source: Yin J et al. 2008, Metabolism 57(5):712-7, PMID 18442638; Zhang Y et al. 2008, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93(7):2559-65, PMID 18397984; Xiang ZD et al. 2024, Phytomedicine 126:155444, PMID 38367423 (review: low oral bioavailability)
A 2003 patent claims improved water solubility/absorption vs the chloride salt, but no independent human clinical outcome trial specific to the sulfate salt was located.
Source: patent claim only (WO2003090749A1); no peer-reviewed human data located
Typically the same berberine-HCl active compound sourced/standardized from whole-plant extract, used in several of the same clinical trials as "berberine," but whole-extract products can vary in standardized berberine content and carry co-extracted alkaloids.
Source: e.g. HIMABERB (Berberis aristata-derived) prediabetes RCT, PMC10483788
Reference values
- RDA (adult): not established — Plant alkaloid, not an essential nutrient; no DRI exists.
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): not established — Not established. Clinical trials up to ~1500mg/day for 3-12 months report GI side effects (diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain) as the main dose-limiting issue.
- Studied clinical dose range: 1000–1500 mg
- Low end: Zhang Y et al. 2008, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93(7):2559-65, PMID 18397984 -- RCT (n=116) type 2 diabetes with dyslipidemia, berberine 1.0g/day vs placebo x3 months; glucose, HbA1c, triglyceride and LDL-C fell vs placebo. High end: Yin J et al. 2008, Metabolism 57(5):712-7, PMID 18442638 -- RCT (n=36) newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetics, 500mg TID (1500mg/day) berberine vs metformin 500mg TID x3 months; comparable glucose-lowering (HbA1c 9.5%->7.5%, fasting glucose 10.6->6.9 mmol/L, both P<0.01) plus a triglyceride reduction. No cited trial supports a daily dose below 1000mg/day.
- Note: category is 'other' rather than 'amino' -- berberine is a plant isoquinoline alkaloid, not an amino acid.