Berberis

Barberry / Pepperidge Bush

Berberis vulgaris

This strongly astringent and healing plant was used by ancient Greek and Arabian physicians to cool the blood during fevers and to treat jaundice and gastrointestinal disorders, while American Indians used it for peptic ulcers. Western herbalists give barberry for liver problems caused by drug or alcohol abuse, and Ayurvedic doctors advocate it as a detoxicant and liver tonic. In traditional Chinese medicine it is taken for diarrhea. Barberry contains alkaloids that are thought to inhibit cancer. It exhibits a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The homeopathic remedy was proved by Dr. Hesse in 1835, and is taken largely for urinary and digestive disorders with sharp or colicky pain.

People who respond well to Berberis are prone to lethargy, inertia, and listlessness. They can find it difficult to sustain any mental effort or to think straight. They can be especially anxious at twilight, when objects may appear larger than life and distorted so that they may be mistaken for monsters.

Typical physical symptoms for those who need Berberis include pallor, hollow eyes and cheeks, and dry mucous membranes. Berberis is given for a particular type of pain, typically described as deep, sharp, neuralgic or colicky pain radiating outward, and often shifting from one part of the body to another. This type of sudden pain is often linked with kidney infection, arthritis, or gout. Berberis has a strong affinity with the urinary and digestive systems, and is used mainly in the treatment of kidney disorders.

Uses

This herb was used for bleeding, jaundice, diarrhea, and dysentery. Today, Berberis is still used to treat jaundice as well as gallstones and other liver problems.
The main use of Berberis is to treat kidney infections, especially when there is tenderness in the region of the kidneys. Sudden movement, stepping too hard down stairs, or getting up after sitting may aggravate weakness and soreness in the lower back. People who need Berberis look pale. The mucous membranes are dry and their symptoms may change rapidly.

Kidney disorders - kidney infection with tenderness and pain in the kidney area, as if water is trying to bubble through the skin. Urine is dark yellow or green with a reddish, bran like sediment. Berberis may help kidney stones with severe, sharp, neuralgic or colicky pain radiating from the kidneys to the bladder and down the legs.

Cystitis - burning or sharp, cutting pains from the bladder to the urethra, with green or dark yellow urine that contains a reddish, bran like sediment. Pain from the spermatic cord to the testes may make sexual intercourse painful.

Gallbladder problems - sharp, radiating, tearing pain in the area of the gallbladder, extending toward the stomach. Colic may cause a stabbing, stitch like pain that radiates from the liver area. There may be an inflamed gallbladder or gallstones with associated biliary colic (pain in the upper abdomen), which may sometimes develop into jaundice with pale stools.

Lower-back pain - pain in the lower back that radiates outward or down the thigh, accompanied by stiffness and possibly by a stitch in the abdomen or the side of the body.

Joint pain - general joint and muscle aches in the arms and legs, with sharp pains radiating outward and down the limbs. Gout and arthritic pain may also respond to Berberis.