Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris), of the Berberidaceae family. Spiny deciduous shrub with three-parted thorns, yellow flowers and hanging red berries; native range: hedgerows and thickets of Europe and western Asia, naturalised in North America. Globally recognized as amirbaris / zarishk in Arabic, zarishk in Urdu, and common barberry, pipperidge bush, jaundice berry in English. The part used is root and stem bark; ripe fruit. Inner bark and wood bright yellow and very bitter; the oblong red berries sharply sour and refreshing.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BARBERRY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- barberry
- Scientific name
- Berberis vulgaris L.
- Family
- Berberidaceae
Form
- Part used
- root and stem bark; ripe fruit
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- sour · bitter
- Unani
- sour · astringent
Temperature
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- liver · blood · digestion · spleen
- Unani
- liver · stomach · heart · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- bitter hepatic and cholagogue, mild laxative, antimicrobial, refrigerant; the fruit a cooling astringent
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-jigar (liver tonic), daf-e-safra (cools bile), qabiz (astringent), muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), daf-e-bukhar (antipyretic)
Cautions
Contraindications: large doses in pregnancy (berberine stimulates the uterus); jaundice of the newborn
Toxicity: large doses of the alkaloid-rich bark may cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
Interactions
- Western
- CYP450-metabolised drugs: berberine inhibits CYP3A4, raising levels of co-metabolised drugs · antidiabetic agents: berberine adds to blood-glucose lowering · immunosuppressants: berberine raises ciclosporin blood levels by slowing its metabolism
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