Bacopa monnieri
is a creeping perennial with white or blue flowers that grows throughout much of Southern Asia. It has been used traditionally to treat
epilepsy
,
depression
,
insomnia
, and
schizophrenia
. In the traditional medicine of India,
Ayurveda
,
B. monnieri
is considered to fall in the “brahmi” category of herbs, a group of substances said to assist the mind and enhance awareness. From this comes
B.
monnieri’s
common name of brahmi, despite the fact that many other herbs fall into the brahmi category as well.
What is
B. monnieri
Used for Today?
B. monnieri
is widely marketed today as a “brain tonic” for enhancing memory and mental function. However, as discussed in the next section, the evidence that it works remains weak at best.
Even weaker evidence, far too preliminary to rely upon at all, hints that
B. monnieri
might have potential value for
allergies
,
1asthma
,
2narcotic addiction
,
3hypothyroidism
,
4depression
,
5
and
ulcers.6
However, far more research is necessary before anyone could responsibly promote
B. monnieri
for these conditions.
What is the Scientific Evidence for
B. monnieri
?
Although several
double-blind
, placebo-controlled studies have evaluated the potential value of
B. monnieri
for enhancing mental function, the results are far from conclusive.
B. monnieri
appears to have
antioxidant
properties in the brain, which could potentially lead to positive effects on mental function.
7
However, a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 76 individuals that tested the potential memory-enhancing benefits of
B. monnieri
generally failed to find much evidence of benefit.
8
The only significant improvement seen among all the many measures used was in one that evaluated retention of new information. While this may sound at least somewhat promising, in fact it means almost nothing. Here’s why: When a study uses many different techniques to assess improvement, mere chance ensures that at least one of them will come up with results. Properly designed studies should focus on one test of benefit alone (the “primary outcome measure”) that is selected prior to running the trial. “Fishing” for results among multiple tests is a highly suspect method.
Nonetheless, if several independent studies use multiple tests of improvement, and the pattern of response is reliably maintained, then the results begin to appear more significant. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case with
B. monnieri
. In a previous double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolling 46 individuals, use of
B. monnieri
over a 2-week period again produced benefits, but in an entirely different pattern.
9
In yet another double-blind, placebo-controlled study, this one involving 38 people, short-term use of
B. monnieri
failed to produce any measurable improvements in memory.
10
In addition, use of combined
Ginkgo biloba
(120 mg) and
B. monnieri
(300 mg) has also failed to improve mental function.
11,12
This type of inconsistency suggests that the limited benefits seen in some studies were due to chance.
Slightly more promising results have been seen in studies of a proprietary
Ayurvedic
mixture containing
B. monnieri
and about 30 other ingredients.
13,14
However, these studies are generally not up to modern scientific standards.
Dosage
The proposed active ingredients in
B. monnieri
are substances called bacosides. A typical dose of
B. monnieri
used in the studies described above was 300–450 mg daily of a concentrated alcohol extract standardized to bacoside content, equivalent to about 6–9 grams of whole dried herb.
Safety Issues
There are no well known significant side effects associated with the use of
B. monnieri
. However, comprehensive safety studies have not been reported. Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or people with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established.
References
1:
Samiulla DS, Prashanth D, Amit A. Mast cell stabilising activity of
Bacopa monnieri
.
Fitoterapia
. 2001;72:284–5.
2:
Channa S, Dar A, Yaqoob M, Anjum S, Sultani Z, Rahman A. Broncho-vasodilatory activity of fractions and pure constituents isolated from
Bacopa monniera
.
J Ethnopharmacol
. 2003;86:27–35
3:
Sumathi T, Nayeem M, Balakrishna K, Veluchamy G, Devaraj SN. Alcoholic extract of '
Bacopa monniera
' reduces the in vitro effects of morphine withdrawal in guinea-pig ileum.
J Ethnopharmacol
. 2002;82:75–81.
4:
Kar A, Panda S, Bharti S. Relative efficacy of three medicinal plant extracts in the alteration of thyroid hormone concentrations in male mice.
J Ethnopharmacol
. 2002;81:281–5.
5:
Sairam K, Dorababu M, Goel RK, Bhattacharya SK. Antidepressant activity of standardized extract of
Bacopamonniera
in experimental models of depression in rats.
Phytomedicine
. 2002;9:207–11.l.
6:
Sairam K, Rao CV, Babu MD, Goel RK. Prophylactic and curative effects of
Bacopa monniera
in gastric ulcer models.
Phytomedicine
. 2001;8:423–30.
7:
Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Kumar A, Ghosal S Antioxidant activity of
Bacopa monniera
in rat frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus.
Phytother Res
. 2000;14:174–9.
8:
Roodenrys S, Booth D, Bulzomi S, et al. Chronic effects of
B. monnieri
(
Bacopa monnieri
) on human memory.
Neuropsychopharmacology
. 2002;27:279–281.
9:
Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, et al. The chronic effects of an extract of
Bacopa monniera
(
B. monnieri
) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects.
Psychopharmacology
. 2001;156:481–4.
10:
Nathan PJ, Clarke J, Lloyd J, et al. The acute effects of an extract of
Bacopa monniera
(
B. monnieri
) on cognitive function in healthy normal subjects.
Hum Psychopharmacol
. 2001;16:345–351.
11:
Nathan PJ, Tanner S, Lloyd J et al. Effects of a combined extract of
Ginkgo biloba
and
Bacopa monniera
on cognitive function in healthy humans.
Hum Psychopharmacol
. 2004;19:91–6.
12:
Maher BF, Stough C, Shelmerdine A, et al. The acute effects of combined administration of
Ginkgo biloba
and
Bacopa monniera
on cognitive function in humans.
Hum Psychopharmacol
. 2002;17:163–4.
13:
Agrawal A, Dubey M, Dubey G. Effects of Mentat on memory span, attention, galvanic skin resistance (GSR) and muscle action potential (EMG) among normal adults.
Pharmacopsychoecologia
. 1990;3:39–42.
14:
Sharma AK, Agrawal A, Agrawal U, et al. Influence of Mentat (BR-16A) on memory and mental fatigue in cases of anxiety neurosis and depression.
Ind J. Cancer Res
. 1990;3:27.
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
