Bacopa Monnieri

What Is Bacopa Monnieri?

Bacopa is a nootropic herb which has been used for years in traditional medicine for cognitive enhancement as well as for longevity. Bacopa can improve memory amongst its other mental health benefits. Research has shown bacopa to help enhance immediate recall memory, delayed recall memory, and learning.

 

How Does Bacopa Work Though??

Bacopa’s active ingredients are bacosides A and B. These active bacosides assist your brain’s antioxidants, especially superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione dismutase (GPx). These two antioxidants work synergistically together to help protect brain cells from age-accelerating free radicals [1, 2, 3].

These bacosides also help support acetylcholine, GABA, and serotonin in the brain, which are all neurotransmitters associated with a clear mind, focused thinking, and a healthy mood.

 

What Are The Benefits Of Me Taking Bacopa?

Bacopa’s bacosides A and B are able to cross the blood-brain barrier and then help strengthen signals between neurons. Down the line, this leads to better overall mood, quicker processing, and slowed brain aging. Consequently, you can absorb more information and learn faster. You can also recall dates, names, and statistics better [2, 3]. 

 

Abdul Manap, Aimi & Vijayabalan, Shantini & Madhavan, Priya & Chia, Yoke & Arya, Aditya & Wong, Eng & Rizwan, Farzana & Bindal, Umesh & Koshy, Shajan. (2019). Bacopa monnieri , a Neuroprotective Lead in Alzheimer Disease: A Review on Its Properties, Mechanisms of Action, and Preclinical and Clinical Studies. Drug Target Insights. 13. 117739281986641. 10.1177/1177392819866412.

 

Studies show strong evidence that bacopa can help to improve memory, which can be defined as the ability to store and recall information. Bacopa can help improve memory in both healthy individuals and in those with cognitive decline. There is a high level of evidence from studies showing that bacopa can improve attention in individuals with and without ADD. Also, bacopa can help to improve working memory, which is the ability to keep information in the brain until it can be processed into long-term memory.

Research also suggests that bacopa may help speed up mental processing, optimize cognitive function under stress, as well as promote relaxation.

 

Where Is The Proof For All These Great Benefits?!

Studies have shown significant improvements in working memory and attention in individuals taking bacopa [4]. Also, less anxiety as well as depression has been noted [4].

Furthermore, bacopa has been seen to increase working memory and other studies have seen it to improve the precision of rapid identification [4]. Verbal learning, memory acquisition, and delayed recall have been improved with bacopa supplementation [5]. Another study saw an improvement in both memory capacity as well as in the speed of learning. This effect was greater with longer use of bacopa (12 weeks) relative to 5 weeks [6].

One study saw that individuals taking bacopa had improvements in cognitive processing, attention, and working memory partly through the suppression of acetylcholinesterase activity. This study also showed that results were better at 300mg daily rather than at 600mg daily [6].

 

Abdul Manap, Aimi & Vijayabalan, Shantini & Madhavan, Priya & Chia, Yoke & Arya, Aditya & Wong, Eng & Rizwan, Farzana & Bindal, Umesh & Koshy, Shajan. (2019). Bacopa monnieri , a Neuroprotective Lead in Alzheimer Disease: A Review on Its Properties, Mechanisms of Action, and Preclinical and Clinical Studies. Drug Target Insights. 13. 117739281986641. 10.1177/1177392819866412.

 

NEURO(X) contains 300mg of bacopa monnieri to help you boost your memory and focus!

 

References:

  1. Sheikh, N. et al. Effect of Bacopa monniera on stress induced changes in plasma corticosterone and brain monoamines in rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 May 22;111(3):671-6. Epub 2007 Jan 30.
  2. Calabrese, C. et al. 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 Jul; 14(6): 707–713.
  3. Roodenrys, S. et al. Chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) on human memory. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2002 Aug;27(2):279-81.
  4. Stough C, Downey LA, Lloyd J, Silber B, Redman S, Hutchison C, Wesnes K, Nathan PJ. 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. 2008 Dec;22(12):1629-34. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2537. PMID: 18683852.
  5. Morgan A, Stevens J. Does Bacopa monnieri improve memory performance in older persons? Results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Jul;16(7):753-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2009.0342. PMID: 20590480.
  6. Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, Downey LA, Hutchison CW, Rodgers T, Nathan PJ. The chronic effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Aug;156(4):481-4. doi: 10.1007/s002130100815. Erratum in: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2015 Jul;232(13):2427. Dosage error in article text. PMID: 11498727