Bacopa Monnieri

Overall Health Benefits of Bacopa monnieri

• Improves cognitive function [1-18]
• Fights stress and anxiety [19-24]
• Wards off depression [25-33]
• Lowers blood pressure [34-36]
• Fights various types of cancers [37-52]

What is Bacopa monnieri?

Bacopa monnieri, also known as Brahmi or water hyssop, is a creeping herb commonly found in Australia, India, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This medicinal herb is a nootropic or cognitive enhancer. Bacopa monnieri is also classified as an adaptogen, a substance that helps stabilize physiological processes and promotes homeostasis (balance). In addition, this ancient medicinal herb also has antioxidant properties that help fight harmful free radicals in the body.

How Bacopa monnieri Works?

Bacopa monnieri interacts with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as dopamine and serotonin, resulting in improved neuron communication. Dopamine plays an integral role in motivation, satisfaction, and pain perception. Serotonin, on the other hand, regulates mood, social behavior, appetite, digestion, sleep pattern, libido, and memory. Scientists believe that Bacopa monnieri’s ability to influence these neurotransmitters results in various health benefits.

Chemical Structure of Bacopa Monnieri

Research on Bacopa monnieri

A. Improves Cognitive Function

The ability of Bacopa monnieri to positively affect cognitive function can be attributed to its high Bacoside content. Bacoside is a chemical compound that boosts brain power and prevents cognitive deficits. There’s a great deal of evidence supporting the beneficial effects of Bacopa monnieri on brain health:

1. An Australian survey found that Bacopa monnieri is one of the most prescribed supplements for memory problems among 60-64-year-old consumers. [1]
2. In human subjects with dementia or significant cognitive impairment, supplementation with Bacopa extract at 300-450 mg per day improved memory free recall. [2]
3. In adults aged between 40 and 65 years, Bacopa monnieri supplementation for 3 months decreased the rate of forgetting of newly acquired information. [3]
4. In healthy elderly people, Bacopa monnieri supplementation significantly improved memory acquisition and retention. [4-5]
5. In patients with anxiety, supplementation with Bacopa monnieri extract at 300 mg/day improved memory and learning. [6]
6. In participants (65 or older) without clinical signs of dementia, treatment with Bacopa monnieri improved scores in a series of tests assessing attention, immediate working memory, and verbal learning. [7]
7. In healthy participants, treatment with a special extract of Bacopa monnieri (2 x 150 mg KeenMind) for 90 days improved spatial working memory accuracy. [8]
8. In healthy older Australians, Bacopa monnieri treatment significantly improved verbal learning, memory acquisition, and delayed recall. [9]
9. In subjects with age-associated memory impairment, administration of standardized Bacopa monnieri extract at 125 mg twice daily produced significant improvement in mental control and logical memory. [10]
10. In healthy human subjects, Bacopa monnieri treatment (300 mg) significantly improved the speed of visual information processing. [11]
11. A review of Bacopa monnieri benefits by Rejuvenation Research found that this medicinal herb may promote healing in people with cognitive disorders. [12]
12. In postnatal rats, Bacopa monnieri treatment significantly enhanced learning and retention of memory. [13-14]
13. In Male Wistar rats, oral supplementation with alcoholic extract of Bacopa monnieri for 2 weeks improved spatial memory in the Morris water maze test. [15]
14. In mice with scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment, supplementation with Bacopa monnieriextractreversed short-term and long-term amnesia. [16]
15. In mice with diazepam-induced amnesia, supplementation with Bacopa monnieri suppressed cognitive impairment. [17]
16. In an Alzheimer’s disease animal model, Bacopa monnieri treatment reduced the levels of brain beta-amyloid, which are the causative agent of the disease. [18]

B. Fights Stress and Anxiety

Bacopa monnieri has actually been shown to reduce the detrimental effects of stress and anxiety on the body by improving coping mechanisms and reducing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Numerous studies support the anti-stress and anti-anxiety effects of this adaptogen:

1. In normal healthy participants, consumption of Bacopa monnieri at doses of 320-640 mg improved response to stress by reducing cortisol levels. [19]
2. In healthy urban adults, Bacopa monnieri treatment was associated with lower state anxiety. [20]
3. In healthy elderly participants, Bacopa monnieri treatment improved scores in a test assessing anxiety. [21-22]
4. In rats, Bacopa monnieri treatment reduced symptoms of chronic stress. [23]
5. In rodents, Bacopa monnieri treatment produced anti-anxiety effects comparable to those of lorazepam (benzodiazepine), a drug used to treat anxiety. [24]

C. Wards off Depression

It’s probably not too surprising that Bacopa monnieri can also help ward off depression because it has beneficial effects on stress and anxiety. In fact, most studies assessing its anti-depressant effect showed positive outcomes:

1. In healthy elderly participants, consumption of Bacopa monnieri at doses of 300 mg per day improved depression scores. [25]
2. Bacopa monnieri may help prevent depression by suppressing neuroinflammation, which is associated with depressive symptoms and psychiatric diseases. [26]
3. In a rat model of depression, Bacopa monnieri treatment exerted an antidepressant effect comparable to that of imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. [27]
4. In mice, Bacopa monnieri supplementation at varying doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) reduced the duration of immobility times in the forced swimming test, which is indicative of an antidepressant effect. [28-30]
5. In a rat model of neuropathic pain, Bacopa monnieri reduced depressive-like behaviors by significantly reducing pain levels. [31]
6. In rats that were subjected to undergo chronic unpredictable stress, Bacopa monnieri greatly suppressed depressive-like behaviors. [32]
7. Administration of Bacopa monnieri also reduced morphine-induced depression in rats. [33]

D. Lowers Blood Pressure

Several studies show that Bacopa monnieri also has hypotensive properties that can help lower one’s risk for various diseases:

1. In postmenopausal women, Bacopa monnieri supplementation reduced blood pressure. [34]
2. In anesthetized rats, Bacopa monnieri supplementation (20-60 mg/kg) reduced blood pressure partly via releasing nitric oxide from the endothelium. [35]
3. Bacopa monnieri supplementation in rats reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels. [36]

E. Fights Various Types of Cancers

Bacopa monnieri can help treat and prevent deadly diseases such as cancer. Evidence suggests that this powerful medicinal herb is effective against various cancer types:

1. A cell study found that Bacopa monnieri slowed Dalton’s lymphoma ascites tumor cells, a highly invasive T-cell lymphoma. [37-38]
2. In mice cancer cell lines, treatment with an alcoholic extract of Bacopa monnieri induced programmed cell death (apoptosis). [39]
3. In human breast cancer cell lines, treatment with an alcoholic extract of Bacopa monnieridisplayed anti-tumor activities. [40-42]
4. In human colon cancer cell lines, Bacopa monnieri induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. [43]
5. In human brain cancer cell lines, Bacopa monnieri induced tumor cell death. [44]
6. In rats, Bacopa monnieri exerted anti-cancer properties comparable to that of chemotherapeutic drugs. [45]
7. In rats with liver cancer cells, Bacopa monnieri induced death of cancer cells by enhancing antioxidant status through free radical scavenging mechanisms. [46]
8. In mice with breast cancer cells, water extract of Bacopa monnieri induced apoptosis. [47-48]
9. In a mouse model of skin cancer, Bacopa monnieri extract treatment induced cell cycle arrest. [49-50]
10. In mice with Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (liver cancer), Bacopa monnieri reduced the number of cancer cells. [51-52]

Associated Side Effects of Bacopa monnieri

Bacopa monnieri side effects are very uncommon. There have been some side effects associated with its use wherein the patient had one of the issues listed below at some point while being on bacopa monnieri. However, these side effects weren’t confirmed to be associated with the treatment and could have been a coincidence and not related to the use of bacopa monnieri. Despite this, it was listed as a side effect associated with bacopa monnieri even though these associated side effects are very uncommon.

Side effects associated with bacopa monnieri may include the following:

• Bloating
• Diarrhea
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue
• Increased bowel movements
• Nausea
• Stomach cramps

References

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2. Pase MP, Kean J, Sarris J, Neale C, Scholey AB, Stough C. The cognitive-enhancing effects of Bacopa monnieri: a systematic review of randomized, controlled human clinical trials. J Altern Complement Med. 2012;18(7):647-52.
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7. Calabrese C, Gregory WL, Leo M, Kraemer D, Bone K, Oken B. Effects of a standardized Bacopa monnieri extract on cognitive performance, anxiety, and depression in the elderly: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2008;14(6):707-13.
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