Berberine, a natural compound, may help liver cells make more LDL receptors — the 'bouncers' that pull bad cholesterol out of your blood — by protecting the instructions for making those receptors from being destroyed too soon.

33

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

33

Community contributions welcome

33

Berberine is a novel cholesterol-lowering drug working through a unique mechanism distinct from statins

Case-Control Study

Human

2004 Dec

The study found that berberine, a natural compound, makes liver cells produce more LDL receptors by protecting the message that tells the cell to make them — and it does this through a specific part of the message and a known cellular signal, just like the claim said.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Berberine is a novel cholesterol-lowering drug working through a unique mechanism distinct from statins

Score: 33

DOI: 10.1038/nm1135

Similar Assertions

Berberine, a natural compound, helps your liver cells make more LDL receptors—these are like little doors that pull bad cholesterol out of your blood—by keeping the instructions for making those doors from falling apart, and it needs a specific cell signal (ERK) to do this.

33

0

93%

Berberine, a natural compound, may help lower bad cholesterol by helping your liver grab more of it from your blood—kind of like turning up a vacuum cleaner that sucks up cholesterol, thanks to how it blocks a protein called PCSK9 and keeps the cholesterol sensors in your liver working longer.

0

79%

Berberine, a natural compound, tells your liver to grab more bad cholesterol (LDL) out of your blood by turning on a cellular energy sensor, helping lower your cholesterol levels.

7

0

79%

Berberine, a natural compound, helps your liver remove more 'bad' cholesterol from your blood by making it keep more of the receptors that grab cholesterol—kind of like a weaker version of expensive cholesterol drugs.

21

0

77%

Both berberine (a natural supplement) and statins (cholesterol drugs) help lower bad cholesterol by making more LDL receptors in your liver—but they work in different ways. Statins tell your liver to make more receptors from scratch, while berberine helps the existing instructions for making receptors last longer so more receptors get built.

32

0

76%