Goldenseal
HerbalAlso called · 5 names▾▴
yellow root, goldenroot, yellow pucoon, golden seal, Hydrastis canadensis
Herbal supplement (cold and upper respiratory symptoms)
Herbs and supplements are not FDA-approved before sale. About these sources
- Topical
- Other
Research strength: 1 / 5
According to NCCIH, pregnant women should not use goldenseal; its page does not identify a human pregnancy outcome study. Yao et al. found no increase in pregnancy losses or malformations in rats given 65 times the human dose, but the extract affected rat embryos in lab culture. In a 2026 study, berberine slowed heart rates in cultured rat embryos; its authors said the exposure margin was likely acceptable under most conditions. A 2026 screening review lists goldenseal among botanicals with possible developmental concerns based on limited data. MotherToBaby says many herbal products lack pregnancy data, but its sheet does not discuss goldenseal. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- NCCIH: GoldensealUS government
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information)Teratology service
- Yao et al., Birth Defects Research B 2005 (goldenseal rat reproductive screen)US government
- Ritchie et al., Birth Defects Research 2026 (rat embryo heart-rate study)US government
- Mahony et al., Pharmaceutical Biology 2026 (botanical DART screening strategy review)US government
Research strength: 1 / 5
According to NCCIH, pregnant women should not use goldenseal; its page does not identify a human pregnancy outcome study. Yao et al. found no increase in pregnancy losses or malformations in rats given 65 times the human dose, but the extract affected rat embryos in lab culture. In a 2026 study, berberine slowed heart rates in cultured rat embryos; its authors said the exposure margin was likely acceptable under most conditions. A 2026 screening review lists goldenseal among botanicals with possible developmental concerns based on limited data. MotherToBaby says many herbal products lack pregnancy data, but its sheet does not discuss goldenseal. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- NCCIH: GoldensealUS government
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information)Teratology service
- Yao et al., Birth Defects Research B 2005 (goldenseal rat reproductive screen)US government
- Ritchie et al., Birth Defects Research 2026 (rat embryo heart-rate study)US government
- Mahony et al., Pharmaceutical Biology 2026 (botanical DART screening strategy review)US government
Research strength: 1 / 5
According to NCCIH, pregnant women should not use goldenseal; its page does not identify a human pregnancy outcome study. Yao et al. found no increase in pregnancy losses or malformations in rats given 65 times the human dose, but the extract affected rat embryos in lab culture. In a 2026 study, berberine slowed heart rates in cultured rat embryos; its authors said the exposure margin was likely acceptable under most conditions. A 2026 screening review lists goldenseal among botanicals with possible developmental concerns based on limited data. MotherToBaby says many herbal products lack pregnancy data, but its sheet does not discuss goldenseal. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- NCCIH: GoldensealUS government
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information)Teratology service
- Yao et al., Birth Defects Research B 2005 (goldenseal rat reproductive screen)US government
- Ritchie et al., Birth Defects Research 2026 (rat embryo heart-rate study)US government
- Mahony et al., Pharmaceutical Biology 2026 (botanical DART screening strategy review)US government
Goldenseal — Breastfeeding
Research strength: 1 / 5
LactMed reports no measurements of goldenseal components in breast milk and no study outcomes for nursing mothers or infants. LactMed says berberine can push bilirubin, a yellow substance in blood, off blood proteins, raising concern that it could build up in a newborn's brain; milk transfer is unknown. Chan's lab and rat study found bilirubin displacement by berberine, but it did not study goldenseal in milk or nursing infants. NCCIH advises breastfeeding women not to use goldenseal; an Australian clinical review also lists it as not recommended because evidence is lacking. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- LactMed: GoldensealUS government
- NCCIH: GoldensealUS government
- Chan, Biology of the Neonate 1993 (berberine bilirubin-binding study)US government
- Amir et al., RACGP: Breastfeeding evidence-based guidelines for the use of medicines
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information)Teratology service
Pregnancy
NCCIH says no rigorous studies have evaluated goldenseal's effects on health conditions in people; that statement is not specific to pregnancy. Yao et al. (2005) gave rats oral goldenseal at 65 times the human dose on gestation days 1 to 8 or 8 to 15. The abstract reports no increase in pre- or post-implantation losses or external or internal malformations, but the extract affected cultured rat embryos. The authors suggested that limited absorption could explain the difference and called for pharmacokinetic studies. Ritchie et al. (2026) found that berberine, a goldenseal constituent, slowed the heart rate of cultured day-13 rat embryos; the abstract says the exposure margin is likely acceptable under most conditions. Mahony et al. (2026) is a screening-strategy review that lists goldenseal as a suspected positive based on limited data and describes nonclinical findings for berberine. These sources do not report a human pregnancy outcome study of goldenseal.
Breastfeeding
As of its 15 May 2025 revision, LactMed reports no published information on goldenseal levels in maternal milk, infant blood levels, effects in breastfed infants, or effects on lactation. LactMed says berberine can displace bilirubin from albumin and notes concern about newborn exposure, while stating that transfer from mother to infant is unknown. Chan's 1993 study found bilirubin displacement in vitro and changes in bilirubin binding after berberine dosing in adult rats. It did not study goldenseal, milk transfer, or nursing infants. RACGP lists goldenseal among herbs not recommended during breastfeeding because evidence is lacking. No human milk-transfer or infant-outcome study was identified in the sources reviewed.
Goldenseal is the root of Hydrastis canadensis. LactMed says the root contains berberine and other alkaloids. LactMed also notes that supplements may contain multiple ingredients and that labeled and actual ingredients or amounts can differ.
What was tested
Pregnancy research includes one oral whole-goldenseal rat screen, cultured rat embryo exposure to goldenseal extract, and a 2026 cultured rat embryo test of berberine. These are nonhuman studies. Breastfeeding research reported no measured goldenseal milk or infant levels and no published infant outcome information in LactMed. Beyond pregnancy, one study tested a goldenseal extract with metformin in 16 healthy volunteers.
How to interpret limited pregnancy-related evidence on goldenseal
- Source A says
- NCCIH advises pregnant women not to use goldenseal. A 2026 screening-strategy review lists goldenseal as a suspected positive based on limited data. (NCCIH: Goldenseal, Mahony et al., Pharmaceutical Biology 2026 (botanical DART screening strategy review))
- Source B says
- Yao et al. found no increase in rat pregnancy losses or external or internal malformations after oral whole-goldenseal dosing at 65 times the human dose. Ritchie et al. found that berberine slowed heart rates in cultured rat embryos, but judged the exposure margin likely acceptable under most conditions. (Yao et al., Birth Defects Research B 2005 (goldenseal reproductive screening test), Ritchie et al., Birth Defects Research 2026 (rat embryo heart-rate study))
- Why they differ
- The sources assess different materials and evidence thresholds. Yao tested oral whole-plant extract in pregnant rats, Ritchie studied purified berberine in embryo culture, and Mahony's paper is a screening-strategy review of mixed nonclinical literature. None reports human pregnancy outcomes.
- Other sources
- MotherToBaby says many herbal supplements have not been evaluated for pregnancy or breastfeeding, but its sheet does not discuss goldenseal. (MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information))
- What the evidence shows overall
- These sources show limited and mixed nonclinical findings, not established human pregnancy outcomes. The whole-plant rat screen and berberine embryo studies use different preparations and test systems. NCCIH's precaution remains relevant, while the pregnancy research in these sources does not establish a human fetal effect.
- NCCIH asks people to talk with a health care provider before using goldenseal or other herbal products. (NCCIH)
- MotherToBaby asks people who use herbal products to tell their health care providers and to discuss a product before starting it. (MotherToBaby)
General research, not specific to pregnancy.
A study in healthy adults found that goldenseal changed metformin exposure. This interaction study does not report pregnancy or breastfeeding outcomes.
- In 16 healthy volunteers, the geometric mean metformin AUC and peak concentration decreased by 23% and 27%, respectively, in the presence of goldenseal. (Nguyen et al., Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2021 (goldenseal-metformin interaction study))
- LactMed notes that supplements may contain multiple ingredients and that labeled and actual ingredients or amounts may differ, so findings for one product may not apply to another. (LactMed: Goldenseal)
- NCCIH: GoldensealUS governmentSecondary
- LactMed: GoldensealUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2025-05-15
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products (general information)Teratology serviceSecondary
- Yao et al., Birth Defects Research B 2005 (goldenseal reproductive screening test)US governmentPrimary
- Chan, Biology of the Neonate 1993 (berberine bilirubin-binding study)US governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Ritchie et al., Birth Defects Research 2026 (rat embryo heart-rate study)US governmentPrimary
- Mahony et al., Pharmaceutical Biology 2026 (botanical DART screening strategy review)US governmentPrimaryPage dated 2026-04-28Independent check
- Amir et al., RACGP: Breastfeeding evidence-based guidelines for the use of medicinesSecondaryIndependent check
- Nguyen et al., Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2021 (goldenseal-metformin interaction study)US governmentPrimary
Last reviewed 2026-10-16
Independent check 2026-10-16
Not yet clinician-reviewed
Ask your provider about your situation.