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Bacopa Monnieri
Natural Encyclopaedia

Bacopa

FAMILY: Scrofulariaceae.

HABITAT: in India and tropical regions grows in moist, swampy soils.(1)

USED PART: leaves and stem.(1-2)

RECOMMENDED PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATION: dry extract of Bacopa titrated to 20% bacosides A and B the recommended dosage is 100-400mg per day for adults and 100-200mg for children. (1-3)

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: ingredients responsible for the pharmacological effects of Bacopa monnieri include alkaloids, saponins, sterols.
Some ingredients (the alkalodes brahmin and herpestine, saponins, D-mannitol, acid A, monnierin) were isolated in India more than 40 years ago. Other active constituents were later identified and include betullic acid, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol and some bacosides and bacosaponins.
The ingredients responsible for the effects on cognitive functions are believed to be bacosides A. (1-4)

WHAT DOES BACOPA DO?
Since the primary therapeutic use is the improvement of cognitive function, most research has focused on the mechanism that justifies this property. The triterpenoid saponins and their bacosides are responsible for Bacopa's ability to increase nerve impulse transmission. Bacosides contribute to the repair of damaged neurons by increasing protein kinase activity; Bacopa facilitates neuronal synthesis, helps restore synaptic activity and improves nerve impulse transmission. Based on the results of the animal model studies, it can be said that bacosides exert antioxidant activity in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and striatum. It also emerges that Bacopa extract modulates the expression of enzymes involved in the generation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species in the brain. Research conducted in vitro has shown that Bacopa exerts a protective effect against DNA damage in human astrocytes and fibroblasts. (5-6)

Bacopa monnieri extract performs neuroprotective action several antioxidant mechanisms: (7-8)

chelating action on bivalent metals;

scavenger action on reactive oxygen species with dose-dependent effect;

reduction of lipid peroxide formation;

inhibition of lipoxygenase activity.

CLINICAL EVIDENCE:
Bacopa monnieri extract in a study on elderly subjects randomised, double-blind controlled trial has been shown to: (9)

- improve working memory;

- improve attention;

- improve cognitive processing;

- suppress plasma aceticolinesterase activity.

In a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial on subjects aged between 18 and 60 years, the Bacopa monnieri extract was shown to be effective in improving higher-order cognitive processes that are critically dependent on the flow of information from the environment, such as learning and memory. The extract significantly improved the speed of processing visual information, the level of learning and memory consolidation (P<0.05) and the state of anxiety (P<0.001) compared to placebo, with more marked effects after 12 weeks of treatment. (10)

In another randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, Bacopa monnieri extract was shown to be effective in improving the retention of new information by means of the delayed recall test of word pairs in subjects aged 40-65 years. (11)

Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study shows that Bacopa monnieri extract has positive effects on memory, cognitive functionmental well-being and  cognitive performance of the Elderly subject. (12)

In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, Bacopa monnieri extract was shown to improve performance in tests associated with attention and verbal memory in elderly subjects, particularly in attention tests (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) (P=0.008), verbal memory tests (List Learning Test with Delayed Recall - RAVLT) (P=0.008) and drawing-based visual retention tests (P=0.035). (13)

SIDE EFFECTS:
Therapeutic doses of Bacopa do not induce side effects and Bacopa has been used safely in Ayurvedic medicine for hundreds of years. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in healthy volunteers investigated the safety of pharmacological doses of bacosides isolated over a 4-week period. Bacoside concentrates administered in single (20-30mg) and multiple (100-200 mg) daily doses were well tolerated and no side effects occurred. (14)

CONTRAINDICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER DRUGS:
In animal model studies, Bacopa has been shown to decrease morphine and phenytoin toxicity. On the other hand, there seems to be no support for the assumption that Bacopa extract has mild sedative properties and should therefore be used with caution in combination with sedatives. (15-16)

 

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Bibliography:

1.Chopra RN. Indigenous Drugs of India. 2nd ed. Calcutta, India: U.N. Dhur and Sons; 1958:341.

2.Kapoor LD. CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Inc; 1990;61.

3.Chakravarty AK, Garai S, Masuda K, et al. Bacopasides III-V: three new triterpenoid glycosides from Bacopa monniera. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2003;51:215-217

4.Hou CC, Lin SJ, Cheng JT, Hsu FL. Bacopaside III, bacopasaponin G, and bacopasides A, B, and C from Bacopa monniera. J Nat Prod 2002;65:1759-1763.

5.Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Kumar A, Ghosal S. Antioxidant activity of Bacopa monniera in rat frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus. Phytother Res 2000;14:174–179.

6.Russo A, Izzo AA, Borrelli F, et al. Free radical scavenging capacity and protective effect of Bacopa monniera L. on DNA damage. Phytother Res 2003;17:870-875.

7.Kapoor R, Srivastava S, Kakkar P. Bacopa monnieri modulates antioxidant responses in brain and kidney of diabetic rats. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 2009;27:62–69.

8.Dhanasekaran M, Tharakan B, Holcomb LA, et al. Neuroprotective mechanisms of Ayurvedic antidementia botanical Bacopa monniera. Phytother Res 2007;21:965-969.

9.Peth-Nui T, Wattanathorn J, Muchimapura S, Tong-Un T, Piyavhatkul N, Rangseekajee P, Ingkaninan K, Vittaya-Areekul S. Effects of 12-Week Bacopa monnieri Consumption on Attention, Cognitive Processing, Working Memory, and Functions of Both Cholinergic and Monoaminergic Systems in Healthy Elderly Volunteers. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:606424. doi: 10.1155/2012/606424. Epub 2012 Dec 18.

10.Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, et al. The chronic effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects. Psychopharmacology 2001;156:481–484.

11.Roodenrys S, Booth D, Bulzomi S, et al. Chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) on human memory. Neuropsychopharmacology 2002;27:279–281.

12.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 Jul;14(6):707-13. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0018.

13.Barbhaiya HC, Desai RP, Saxena VS, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of BacoMind_ on memory improvement in elderly participants: A double blind placebo controlled study. J Pharmacol Toxicol 2008;3:425–434

14.Singh HK, Dhawan BN. Neuropsychopharmacological effects of the Ayurvedic nootropic Bacopa monniera Linn. (Brahmi). Indian J Pharmacol 1997;29:S359-S365.

15.Sumathy T, Subramanian S, Govindasamy S, et al. Protective role of Bacopa monniera on morphineinduced hepatotoxicity in rats. Phytotherapy Res 2002;15:643-645.

16.Vohora D, Pal SN, Pillai KK. Protection from phenytoin-induced cognitive deficit by Bacopa monniera, a reputed Indian nootropic plant. J Ethnopharmacol 2000;71:383-390.