Overview of Brahmi (Bacopa Monnieri)
Bacopa monnieri is a creeping herb growing in wetlands and muddy shores. It is native to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam where it grows in marshy areas.
The plant is a perennial. It has thick leaves, with small, white flowers.
Bacopa monniera is also known as Bacopin, Centella asiatica, Coastal Waterhyssop, Water hyssop, Thyme-leafed gratiola, and more popularly as Brahmi or Brahmi Leaf.
Bacopa monniera is often confused with Hydrocotyle asiatica known as Gota Kola, which is also known as Brahmi in North India. Bacopa monniera, however, is known to be the authentic Brahmi.
Some believe that the brahmi herb came to be called Brahmi after the Hindu god Brahman. Brahman is responsible for all creative forces and is the all-pervading consciousness, according to Hindu mythology.
Brahmi Herb Throughout History
Brahmi is considered by many to be the most important “nervine” herb in Ayurvedic medicine, Ayurvedic medicine being the ancient science behind yoga. A nervine is a nerve tonic, a medicine that acts therapeutically upon the nerves as a calming agent.
In India, Brahmi herb was traditionally used ceremonially with babies in the belief that it would open the gateway of intelligence. Nowadays, however, the use of any herbal supplement for children is strongly not advised, unless recommended by a licensed medical practitioner.
Brahmi Herb Health Benefits
Brahmi revitalizes brain cells and removes toxins and blockages in the nervous system. It is very close to, but superior to Gotu Kola, a similar acting herbal supplement.
Brahmi is primarily important for its calming properties. It is considered an important food for yogis as it improves meditation by helping to balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
Brahmi has been successfully used to treat:
- anxiety
- anger
- insomnia
- nerve pain
- nervous debility (emotional disorder causing anxiety and/or depression etc.)
- learning problems
- memory and concentration difficulties
Brahmi may be especially suitable for students as it enhances the mind’s ability to learn and to focus. Elderly people are also highly suited for Brahmi as it assists with memory function.
It has the ability to invigorate mental processes while reducing the effects of nervous anxiety that interfere with optimal mental functioning.
Studies with human subjects demonstrate that Brahmi extract has anti-anxiety effects.1
Many users of Brahmi report more goal-oriented thoughts, stability with positive moods, and a relaxed method of reasoning. Others note memory focus and an increased understanding of situations and concepts in a more meaningful whole.
Clinical Studies of Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa monnieri is listed as a nootropic, a substance that enhances cognitive ability.
Findings from a 2002 study on the chronic effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects suggest that “Bracopa monniera may improve higher order cognitive processes that are critically dependent on the input of information from our environment such as learning and memory.”2
A 2000 study regarding the antioxidant activity of Bacopa monniera found results that suggested that Brahmi exhibited a significant antioxidant effect. The study noted that the results suggested that “the increase in oxidative free radical scavenging activity by BM may explain, at least in part, the cognition- facilitating action of BM, recorded in Ayurvedic texts, and demonstrated experimentally and clinically.”3
Further studies using rats indicated that Bacopa monniera extracts have the ability to improve memory capacity and motor learning ability.4
In addition, other clinical studies suggest Bacopa monniera may improve intellectual activity.5-7
Other clinical studies looking at the individual components of Bacopa monniera show that these components play a part in scavenging reactive oxygen species part of the oxidative stress cascade affecting cells.8 Some have suggested that this ability may explain Bacopa monniera’s effect on mice with Alzheimer’s disease, although further research is required on this front.9
Safety of Bacopa Monnieri
With regard to the safety of Bacopa Monniera, or Brahmi herb, there are no well known significant side effects associated with its use.
A study that evaluated the safety and tolerability of Bacopa Monniera extract showed no adverse effects apart from some reports of mild gastrointestinal symptoms which resolved spontaneously.10 Other studies found no side effects.
Dosage of Bacopa Monnieri
Each serving of HerbalMana, which is 5 capsules, contains 800 milligrams of brahmi (Bacopa monniera).
References:
1. Rajani, M., et al. “Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell) – A Medhya Rasaayana Drug of Ayurveda” in Ramawat, K. G., Ed. (2004). Biotechnology of Medicinal Plants: Vitalizer and Therapeutic Enfield, New Hampshire: Science Publishers, Inc.
2. Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, Downey LA, Hutchison CW, Rodgers T, Nathan PJ. Neuropsychology Laboratory, School of Biophysical Science and Electrical Engineering, Victoria, Australia. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Aug;156(4):481-4.
3. Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Kumar A, Ghosal S., Antioxidant activity of Bacopa monniera in rat frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus. Phytother Res 2000 May; 14(3): 174-9
4. Rajani, M., et al. “Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell) – A Medhya Rasaayana Drug of Ayurveda” in Ramawat, K. G., Ed. (2004). Biotechnology of Medicinal Plants: Vitalizer and Therapeutic Enfield, New Hampshire: Science Publishers, Inc.
5. C. Stough, J. Lloyd, J. Clarke, L. Downey, C. Hutchison, T. Rodgers, P. Nathan (2001). “The chronic effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects”. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 156 (4): 481–4. PMID 11498727.
6. S. Roodenrys, D. Booth, S. Bulzomi, A. Phipps, C. Micallef, J. Smoker (2002). “Chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) on human memory”. Neuropsychopharmacology (Wollongong) 27 (2): 279. doi:10.1016/S0893-133X(01)00419-5. PMID 12093601.
7. Stough C, Downey LA, Lloyd J et al. (2008). “Examining the nootropic effects of a special extract of Bacopa Monniera on human cognitive functioning: 90 day double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial.” Phytother Res. 22:1629-1634.
8. Dhanasekaran M, Tharakan B, Holcomb LA et al. (2007). “Neuroprotective mechanisms of ayurvedic antidementia botanical Bacopa monniera.” Phytother Res. 21:965-969.
9. Dhanasekaran, supra.
10. Pravina K, Ravindra KR, Goudar KS et al. (2007). Safety evaluation of BacoMind in healthy volunteers: a phase I study.” Phytomedicine. 14:301-308.