Thymoquinone and Berberine For Metabolic Syndrome And Weight Management – Why You Need Better Forms To Achieve Efficacy! by Carl Germano, CNS, CDN

The relationship between obesity, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome is a complex web that is prompting researchers to rethink our strategies when it comes to weight management. Linked to obesity, "Metaflammation" is a metabolic inflammatory state that is associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Both weight gain and inflammation are contributors to the fat deposits in the body, which in turn increases blood glucose levels and fuels fat storage. Consequently, comprehending and managing these three intertwined elements is essential to restoring health.

Systematic inflammation can impair the production of leptin, an essential hormone, which sends out signals to the brain to regulate metabolism and control appetite. Additionally, this could result in weight gain, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. An increased body weight can lead to more inflammation, in turn creating a disruption in your body’s hunger signals and hormonal response, making weight gain easier and weight loss more challenging.

Other hormones such as orexin alongside the conversion of white fat to metabolically active brown fat must be taken into consideration to ensure the successful loss of body fat and help avoid the many unfortunate co-morbidities of obesity. Inflammation considerably disrupts the body's balance, making it difficult to battle obesity and alleviate inflammation. Nevertheless, with a combination of a nourishing and well-balanced diet, exercise, and targeted supplements to address inflammation and fat conversion, it is possible to restore the body back into a state of health and equilibrium.

The most important and novel nutrients for addressing the ravages of blood sugar dysregulation, inflammation, and obesity are Thymoquinone and Berberine.

Thymoquinone has been demonstrated to promote insulin production, reduces insulin resistance, and regulate blood sugar levels: all aspects essential to healthy weight management. Furthermore, numerous studies have reported that thymoquinone protects β-cells in the pancreas from oxidative damage, reduces glucose production in the liver, and can, in combination with Metformin, be more effective than either substance taken separately. Lastly, extensive human clinical trials on the effects of thymoquinone in conjunction with a balanced diet and exercise presents very promising results.

A systemic review of medical literature published findings in the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders that of plants with the greatest anti-obesity properties, thymoquinone rich black seed oil was among the most effective natural remedies for weight-loss. Separately, 11 placebo-controlled clinical trials revealed that thymoquinone rich supplements had a reduction in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference, as reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.

The remarkable health benefits of brown fat have been well-documented: it burns energy to generate heat, helping with weight management and diabetes. To further enhance its benefits, thymoquinone can reduce the differentiation of fat stem cells into fat cells, making it an ideal anti-obesity compound. Studies have shown that combining thymoquinone with omega-3, curcumin and berberine can increase the conversion of white fat to brown fat, help reduce insulin resistance and inflammation associated with obesity, and provide complimentary and synergistic effects. 

Through different mechanisms compared to thymoquinone, berberine is equally effective in improving metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and weight management and makes for a perfect complement to thymoquinone in formulations. Studies have shown that berberine increases energy expenditure, limits weight gain, improves cold tolerance, and enhances brown fat activity. In addition, berbeine increases expression of UCP1 (Uncoupling Protein 1, mainly expressed in brown adipose tissue), which acts in thermogenesis, regulation of energy expenditure, and protection against oxidative stress) and other thermogenic genes in white and brown fat. Berberine has been further shown to be an effective treatment for obesity and diabetes by stimulating the formation and functioning of brown adipose tissue, inhibiting glucose production in the liver, improving insulin sensitivity, and reducing inflammation. Comparable in efficacy to Metformin, it regulates glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as reduces both blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C.

Unfortunately, the nutraceutical potential of Thymoquinone and Berberine is limited due to extremely poor bioavailability - example: berbeine has an absolute bioavailability of less than 1%!. That’s why the scientists at Verdant Nature leveraged Artificial Intelligence to develop a game-changing delivery system called SNEDDS (Self-Nano Emulsifying Dietary Delivery System) that dramatically boosts the oral bioavailability of Thymoquinone and Berberine in either powder or emulsion formats. As a result, they created Active Nutraceutical Ingredients called BerberiSol™ and ThymoPro™, significantly increasing the oral bioavailability of Berberine by 625%, and that of Thymoquinone by an impressive 1,333%. An additional benefit of Verdant's Berberisol™ and Thymopro™ is their water dispersibility and neutral taste. This makes these 2 important ingredients attractive “value-added” ingredient for wide range of products including gummies, beverages, lozenges, tablets, capsules, softgels, pet foods and cosmetics. 

If you're searching for a solution to mitigate the damaging effects that metabolic syndrome and inflammation can have on obesity and weight management, ThympPro and BerberiSol provide a necessary addition to any functional  formula. Incorporate them into your regimen today!