TikTok users calling berberine 'nature's Ozempic' but is it?

TikTok users are promoting another weight loss supplement. It's called berberine, but social media users have been dubbing it "nature's Ozempic."   

Droves of social media users have been testing out the herbal substance as Americans continue to clamor for drugs to use as a treatment for obesity, which affected over 40% of the U.S. population in 2017.  

A growing list of people have been posting about their journey trying the supplement and even showing before and after pictures.

"I've been looking on TikTok and nature's Ozempic keeps popping up and like obviously it's summer like I'm trying to lose a couple pounds so... I'm just going to test it out. It's called berberine,' TikTok user Raelarochelle said in a video.

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However, Christopher McGowan, a North Carolina-based gastroenterologist and obesity medicine specialist, drew concerns over its recent attention on social media saying much of this "is mainly unfounded hype, marketing, and inaccurate publicity."

Despite its nickname, berberine is not "natural Ozempic, or in any way a substitute for Ozempic," McGowan told FOX Business. 

"It has been used for generations in traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine for its purported health benefits but has only more recently gained significant attention, mostly on social media, for its supposed role as ‘nature’s Ozempic,’" McGowan said. The issue is that "there is zero similarity between berberine and Ozempic," he added. 

Berberine is an herbal supplement that's derived from various plants' roots, stems, and bark, including barberry, tree turmeric, yellowroot and goldenseal, according to McGowan.

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Comparatively, Ozempic and Wegovy, which are the brand names for the drug semaglutide, are pharmaceutical medications developed by Novo Nordisk that surged in popularity as celebrities and high-profile figures touted their effects in shedding some pounds. Semaglutide is a manufactured peptide designed to mimic the naturally occurring hormone, GLP-1, according to McGowan. 

McGowan noted that Ozempic is a "potent, FDA-approved, highly effective polypeptide backed by the highest quality of scientific evidence, including multiple randomized, controlled clinical trials." 

Meanwhile, there has only been a handful of small, non-rigorous studies, mainly conducted outside the United States, for berberine. 

It’s critically important to understand that these studies "are low-quality, small in scale, short in duration, and subject to bias," which means "we must be cautious in interpreting and extrapolating the findings,' according to McGowan. 

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McGowan said it's still possible for berberine to have a legitimate impact on health if studied on a larger scale but "it will never rival the GLP-1 medications in terms of efficacy." 

On top of that, the FDA does not regulate herbal supplements which further raises concerns regarding potency, purity, and safety, he said. 

Ozempic was approved by federal health officials in 2017 and marketed for medical use in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes "with weight loss as a secondary effect of the drug’s effects and mechanism of action."  

Wegovy, is the same medication as Ozempic, but it was approved four years later specifically for chronic weight management in adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition. 

However, Novo Nordisk said neither Ozempic or Wegovy is "intended to be used as a lifestyle medication."

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Eli Lilly and Co. is also testing out its drug tirzepatide — which was approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and sold under the brand name Mounjaro — as an effective weight loss treatment. If approved for weight loss, it could become the most effective drug to date.