ABSTRACT
One of the confusing curiosities of crude drug nomenclature is the fact that barberry or berberis is obtained from plants of the genus Mahonia and not from species of Berberis. The reason for this is that the several species which yield the rhizome and roots (underground parts) constituting this drug were once classified as Berberis species but are now placed in the genus Mahonia. They include M. aquifolium (Pursh) Nutt. and M. nervosa (Pursh) Nutt., both commonly referred to as Oregon grape. These attractive members of the family Berberidaceae are evergreen shrubs with hollylike leaves and bluish black berries; M. aquifolium is generally taller (three feet plus) than M. nervosa (up to two feet). Common barberry, Berberis vulgaris L., was not a recognized source of the drug when it had official status, but the bark of its root and stem contains similar active principles and is also used similarly.1 Claims for use of the fruits, bark, and root are not allowed in Germany, as the claimed effectiveness for various traditional uses is not scientifically documented.2
