 Live, local, stimulating talk for East Idaho. The Neil Larson Show on News Talk 1079. Berberine, a natural plant compound found in barberry root, golden seal root, and numerous other plants, has gotten lots of publicity in the last few years for its benefits to metabolic diseases and treatment of diabetes. A recent meta-analysis of 18 clinical trials looked at triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, insulin resistance, and fasting glucose.