Background: The botanical diversity of Peru has currently promoted the use of medicinal plants in health institutions nationwide. The objective of this review is to provide scientific information that supports the therapeutic properties of barberry such as Berberis vulgaris. Methods: Information was searched in scientific databases, Plantlist, Scopus, PubMed, Google Academic and repositories of university theses on, ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological information and compared with Berberis rigida Hieron, Berberis vulgaris, Ilex guayusa Loes, Vellesia glabra (Cav), since all of them also have the common name of barberry. Results: Currently there are 3 families and 4 genera that present a species known as barberry, 5 Peruvian university theses in the last 10 years that address the utilities of the genus Berberidaceae and its species, having the most useful tincture. The greatest scientific information, 1,363 studies between ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological, support the usefulness of B. vulgaris, although they come from eastern countries and only 3 are Peruvian. Conclusions: The information that supports the usefulness of B. vulgaris (barberry), comes from international publications (Iran, Pakistan), in addition, there is no Peruvian ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological scientific information, this generates a risk of species confusion, even more so if it has the same common name, and similar phytotherapeutic characteristics. These two situations would lead to the adoption of information from other countries, which in turn puts at risk of possible ineffectiveness of treatment with traditional medicine. Key words: Berberis, phytotherapeutic indication, traditional medicine, medicinal plants, barberry, secondary metabolites, berberidaceae, aquifoliaceae, apocynaceae.