Wellness Foods + Supplements 2/2022
Wellness Foods & Supplements is the first European magazine devoted exclusively to health ingredients, nutraceutical foods and beverages. Questions about the trade magazine Wellness Foods & Supplements? Interested in subscribing or advertising? The board of editors at Wellness Foods & Supplements kindly remains at your disposal.
Wellness Foods & Supplements is the first European magazine devoted exclusively to health ingredients, nutraceutical foods and beverages.
Questions about the trade magazine Wellness Foods & Supplements? Interested in subscribing or advertising? The board of editors at Wellness Foods & Supplements kindly remains at your disposal.
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Cover story<br />
Photo © : Adobe Stock/kilo_l<br />
Indena BERBEVIS ® : the natural way to keep<br />
the metabolism balanced<br />
Berberine, a natural treasure for human health<br />
Berberidaceae, the barberry family of the buttercup order (Ranunculales),<br />
comprises 14 genera and 701 species of perennial herbs<br />
and shrubs. (1) In the Berberidaceae family, the genus Berberis<br />
comprises of around 450–500 species, which represent the main<br />
natural source of berberine. Berberine is a plant alkaloid with a long<br />
history of medicinal use in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine.<br />
Among the various species of Berberis genus, Berberis aristata DC is<br />
one of the most important species due to its wide medicinal properties.<br />
It has been used in traditional medicine for its antimicrobial, antiprotozoal,<br />
antidiarrheal and antitrachoma activity. (2)<br />
Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt derived from isoquinoline<br />
alkaloid and it is supported by reliable scientific literature proving its<br />
health benefits in multifactorial conditions, including the support in<br />
controlling healthy blood levels. (3) The berberine alkaloid can be<br />
found in the roots, rhizomes, and stem bark of the plants.<br />
Specifically, berberine’s proven effectiveness in the management of<br />
multifactorial conditions is related to its so-called “Cloud Effect”: its<br />
pleiotropic effect simultaneously targets both root causes (e. g. lowgrade<br />
chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, gut microbiota modulation)<br />
and marks (e. g. insulin levels) through the modulation of<br />
several cellular targets (e. g. AMPK, mitochondria, insulin-receptor,<br />
key metabolic and pro-inflammatory enzymes, etc.). This helps optimize<br />
peripheral blood metabolic profiles by modulating plasma sugar,<br />
insulin and lipids levels, thus resulting as a precious resource for the<br />
metabolic wellbeing. (4)<br />
BERBEVIS ® , Indena’s next generation Phytosome ® , to face<br />
the challenge of berberine’s poor bioavailability<br />
Like many natural compounds, berberine has a poor bioavailability.<br />
For this reason, high dosages are traditionally recommended for<br />
berberine, that means low tolerability and gastrointestinal side effects.<br />
To face such issue, Indena developed since years Phytosome ® , the<br />
proprietary biomimetic strategy for the delivery of natural ingredients,<br />
6 No. 2 August/September <strong>2022</strong>
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