It is $5 for 12 bottles of 12 pills, for a total of 144 pills.
I am not sure what it is. Any suggestions for how to find out?
All I know is that it is Huang Lian Su, and it looks like the one in the link provided above.

must be some small bottles, as mine comes 100 to a bottle and my bottles are small...

But, that price is much less than I thought you could find it for in the USA, that's great!!! Can you provide the name of the supplier with details on contacting them, preferably by email?

I have no way of knowing, but it is likely it might be HCL variety as it is Chinese and I've not seen any Berberine Sulfate here. It's all in the results and from what I've learned the Berberine Sulfate won't hurt you, it just won't help you. If it's the HCL, you'll see your numbers come down by probably at least 10 points.


Don't forget, I also take 2 other herbs. I go to: www.d-care.com and order their sugar blocker through an internet company at www.familymeds.com You can get details at the D-Care website... I take the sugar blocker before meals and the berberine after meals.... The Sugar Blocker is about $9 for 100 pills so it last just over a month..

I'm really hoping you can provide information on the berberine you're getting, as if it's the real deal, I'd get it there for sure at that price...

by the way, at $5 for 144 pills and taking 15 pills a day, that's a monthly cost of about $16.50 ... not bad at all!!!

I also take a Chinese herb: Mai Wei Di Huang Wan, which I buy at Chinamedicinemall.com when I'm in the states, about $6 for a bottle of 200 pills and I take 30 pills a day (10 - 3 times)... I'm not sure if I really still need this herb though... I might be eliminating it soon and will post results in my journal..

The bottles are actually viles, each contain 12 pills of 100mg each.
Again, I do not know if it is Berberine HCL. It is clearly very related; I have asked through e-mail a Berberine HCL provider from China, and he said what I had was Berberine HCL. It is called Huang Lian Su. That is all I know about it.
As for results, I am actually using it for a different purpose than all of you, so that cannot be measured just yet.
Every Chinese herbal shop in Oakland and San Francisco's Chinatowns carried this for $4.50-6. It is also widely available on the Internet. I have a photocopy from a herbal medicine desk reference book claiming that it is Berberine HCL while also being somewhat ambiguous about it.
It is imported into the U.S. by Kingsway Trading INC of Brooklyn, NY. Their contact info is on the web. I talked to someone there who could not confirm what these pills actually were.
If you are still in Chine, Cajun, perhaps you could ask someone over there.

Alpine,

I think from the information you have, if it were me, I'd give it a try..... You said you were using it for a different purpose... I'd like to know. You can PM me, if you don't want to post it here...

I live about 4 hours away from Houston, so I might check out their China Town for Herbal medicines, thanks for the information.

I'll show your photo of Huang Lian Su to my fiancee and hopefully the name brand is showing in the photo. If I can identify the company here in China, I'll try to contact them for more information..

Thank you. It would be great if you could get some more info about it from the company.
Berberine HCL has been shown to be effective against Giardia infections. One study has found it to be as effective as Flagyl, a very strong antibiotic with sever side effects.
Type Berberine and Giardia into google and you'd fine a lot of info.
Keep me posted if you find out anything about Huang Lian Su.
Thanks

I found the Chinese company that makes and distributes the berberine in that photo...

I sent an email to them and I'm waiting for a response.

By the way, I am hoping to return to the USA soon, so I just stocked up on 150 bottles of berberine with 100 pills to the bottle. I use 15 pills a day, so that is about 3 years worth..

The cost: $28.75 usd

Cajun
Less than 10 bucks a year for something that works.Outstanding!
Eddie

I was mostly just trying to protect the supply for the other segment of folks that are using it, but it doesn't look like the demand here is going to really affect the supply, so I see no harm in just posting it. I was just going to place a large order of it and pass it along at cost to make it available. Turns out I had the pricing wrong anyway -- I was basing 150g on 3 x the 50g (3 x $19.95) -- the size I ordered before. If you buy in the 150g containers it's only $30.00. I just got my most recent order in (where I ordered the bigger jars) and noticed the price. Not as good as the price you got buying pre-made pills in China though!

If you go here you'll see the sizes they have, for as long as they continue to have it. There is a link to the Certificate of Analysis further down the page once you click on a "size".

Remember, this is "bulk" and you have to "cap it" or do something to keep from tasting it. You can buy your own empty capsules and fill them with a handy filling tray gizmo from www.capsuline.com. I've seen other folks refer using one from www.cap-m-quik.com, and it looks similar, but I've not used that one.

Sorry for the confusion. Hope this helps!

http://www.opane.com/huanliansuta1.html

100 pills per bottle – 100mg per pill – cost $5 per bottle if purchasing 10 or more
This is the cheapest pills I could find from a small random search. There are plenty sites that offer huang lian su.

http://www.shopsuigetsu.com/Huang_L...20lian%20su.htm

This web site specifically mentions that the extract produces berberine hydrochloride. It is slightly higher than the other website I listed and it comes 12 pills per vial and 12 vials in each box (total of 144 pills), at a cost of $7.50 per box..

Warnings mention gastric upset if used long term. I’ve been using it about 6 months without any upset whatsoever…. At first I was taking 500mg twice daily and my results were not consistent. For the last 7 weeks, I’ve been taking 500mg three times daily and my results are very consistent and effective. I did notice in the beginning that just walking a little after taking the berberine (15 to 30 minutes) produced much better results.

I do take a “sugar blocker” 3 times daily. It is under the name brand “D-Care” and it contains mostly Gymnema Sylvestre. I also take another Chinese Herb called Mai Wei Di Huang Wan 3 times daily, but am considering discontinuing it in a month or two as I’m not sure it is needed, but still thinking about it…

This Chinese herb is sold for the treatment of diarrhea, even in the USA. Notice if you search the above sites or any sites that give information on Huang Lian Su, you’ll not likely find a reference to lowering of blood sugar, blood cholesterol and blood pressure, or as an aide to weight loss, but it does seem to me to be doing all of that for me…

When I return to the USA, I’ll be getting complete blood work to make sure I have proper liver and kidney functions and I’ll post results if there is anything negative, but I feel like all is well at this time…

Berberine Hydrochloride can come from about 5 or 6 different herbs and I’m not sure if any one herb produces a quality that is more effective than an other herb. All I know is what I am using has given me great results…..

My fiancee (a Doctor of TCM, Herbal Medicine) says: Taking herbs without being sure of quality or quantity is dangerous. Taking too little is as ineffective as not taking any at all and taking too much can create problems. Personally, I wouldn't chance making my own capsules when there are pills available that are made by experts who know what they're doing. I certainly wouldn't base a decision on making my own capsules to save a buck or two.... As much as I believe in taking all natural stuff, let me state that without my testing myself with complete blood work every 90 days or so, I am not so sure I would continue my present course of action. Doctors may not have all the answers, but they know a heck of a lot more than me...

I frown at drugs (insulin, oral medications and such) mostly because drugs were taking me to hell in a hand-basket, but I've got professional guidance trying these herbs. If drugs are needed and they're giving results and anyone is happy with it, I say; go for it! But whatever course of action any of us take, I truly believe testing ourselves in every way possible and monitoring our results is of utmost importance........

You raise a good point Cajunboy. I have a milligram scale (accurate to 1/1000th of a gram) and know that by my procedure I get right at 400mg per "00" size capsule with 4 tampings. You need to have at least some idea what you're doing if you're going to "do it yourself".

As far as the quality and purity goes, I don't know that buying the pre-made caplets would give me any greater or lesser feeling of safety (versus the bulk powder). Since it's all pretty much made in China, if I were willing to assume the contents of the pre-made caplets were pure, I'd have no reason to feel any less safe with the bulk powder (that at least has a Certificate of Analysis).

All that said, the pre-made caplets are a heckuvalot more convenient, and if you can get them at a decent price, it beats fooling with the powder. I'm going to check out my local Asian market and see if they carry any of them at a decent price.

Thanks for all the information!

Brian,

I guess we're risk takers! But, then I think all of us here have learned to weigh the risks and take our chances accordingly...

I try not to worry about quality and purity too much, as that causes stress and stress affects BG. I try things and check results and try to not think and worry too much...

Even a certificate of Analysis probably doesn't mean much, as I'm sure only a small percentage is actually tested and analyzed....

I am shooting for the day when I don't need to supplement anything, just control by diet alone, that would probably be safer, but then maybe there are risks in doing that also...

I was taking the Berberine Hydrochloride in doses of 500mg three times daily. I'm on my 6th day of reducing the dosage to 400 mg daily. The first 2 days, my FBG was up by 7 to 10 points, but have since settled down....

My average FBG on the 500mg dosage was between 90-94 very consistently, but a few higher readings (not much higher) and my average daytime was about 85. My 1 hour post meals was about 120-135... Now on the 400mg dosage, I'm starting to see the same thing. Yesterday evening, my BG was 81, my FBG this morning was 92, my 1 hour after lunch reading yesterday was 121, 2 hours after lunch was 97.

Included in my eating yesterday, just to make a point about how the berberine is helping control my numbers:

Breakfast: toasted buckwheat bread

Lunch: Spinach noodles, carrots, potatoes

Dinner: toasted buckwheat

Snacks: yogurt, about 30 small strawberries, 1 banana, 8 cranberry fruit roll-ups, half an apple....

I'm now on my 9th day of 400mg of Berberine HCL. I'm also on my 9th day of reducing my Mai Wei Di Huang Wan to one dose a day.

My BG control is as good as before reduction, but since reducing the Mai Wei (which stimulates excretion of bodily fluids), I've noticed I'm having a "dry stool".

Berberine HCL is primarily used to control diarrhea, so I'm sure that is the cause of the dry stools, but the problem didn't exist when I took the Mai Wei 3 times daily.

Before deciding to increase the Mai Wei, I think I'll look closer at my diet. Perhaps, I might stop eating nuts for 3 or 4 days to see if it makes any difference, or perhaps add a banana or some other adjustment in diet... (not prunes, though )

My FBGs' have been below 94 and this morning was 85. (my lowest FBG yet), but I did walk on a tread mill for 30 minutes after dinner last night and didn't feel like eating my evening snack, so I'm sure that helped get it lower also.