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Herb library · Herb · Mahonia aquifolium (Berberis aquifolium)

Oregon grape

A holly-leaved shrub of the American West whose bitter yellow root and bark contain berberine. Today it is studied mostly as a skin cream for psoriasis, where small trials have given limited support.

Traditional use

Native to the western United States, from Colorado to the Pacific. The root was long used in home remedies in the West and entered American medicine in the late 1800s as a bitter tonic for digestion and skin conditions. Today it is sold mainly as a cream for psoriasis and as a root extract.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Psoriasis (as a cream): a 2013 review found five randomized trials of Mahonia cream; together with other plant extracts they gave limited support, but the studies were small with methodological weaknesses, so strong conclusions cannot be made. No serious side effects were reported.

  • Insufficient

    Eczema (atopic dermatitis): a 2018 review found a single trial, of an ointment combining Mahonia with other plants.

  • Insufficient

    Taken by mouth for digestion or other uses: no trials in people were found. Studies of berberine itself do not tell us what the whole root does.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • PregnancyIt contains berberine. NCCIH, writing about goldenseal, says berberine can be harmful to newborns and that such products should not be used while pregnant or breastfeeding or given to infants.
  • NoteReviews of the skin-cream trials report minimal side effects. There is little safety information for taking the root by mouth.
  • NoteProducts may be the wrong plant: in 1898 the King's authors found related Mahonia species commonly sold as Oregon grape.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Berberis aquifolium and the other species long in use in domestic practice throughout the West, were brought into general notice a few years since by Parke, Davis & Co., of Detroit, who gave the remedy great conspicuity.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 347. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 347 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 347
“From an examination of the drug, as thrown upon the market, we find the species are confounded, several of them being generally sold as B. aquifolium.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 347. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 347 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 347

Sources

  1. Plant extracts for the topical management of psoriasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2013) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Review of the Efficacy and Safety of Topical Mahonia aquifolium for the Treatment of Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis (2018) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Antimicrobial activity of berberine, a constituent of Mahonia aquifolium (2002) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Goldenseal: Usefulness and Safety (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.