Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

Brahmi [ Bacopa Monnieri] for improved cognition & memory

     Brahmi or Bacopa Monnieri  is a small perennial herbaceous plant commonly known as ‘Brahmi’, belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae. It is used in traditional Indian medicine to treat various nervous disorders, improve learning, memory, and concentration and to provide relief to patients with anxiety, depression etc.

     Bacopa Monnieri is a herb native to  southern and Eastern India, Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America and commonly seen in marshy, brackish areas.

The leaves of this plant are succulent, oblong, and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) thick and are arranged oppositely on the stem. The flowers are small and white, with four to five petals.

    B. Monnieri contains alkaloids brahmine, nicotinine, herpestine, bacosides A and B, saponins A, B and C, triterpenoid saponins, stigmastanol, β-sitosterol, betulinic acid, D-mannitol, stigmasterol, α-alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine and pseudojujubogenin glycoside.

     It has been in use for treating Alzheimer’s disease as a memory and cognition improving agent by traditional system of medicine like Ayurveda and homeopathy. According to a few research studies Bacopa Monnieri herb helps in the repair of damaged neurons, neuronal synthesis, and the restoration of nerve synaptic activity, and improves brain function. 

      Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the elderly.  The disease has early impairment of recent memory due to involvement of median temporal lobe and hippocampus  of brain which controls recent memory. Brahmi or Bacopa Monnieri is a plant drug extract  for memory and cognition impairment in Ayurveda and homeopathy systems of medicine. Research studies and findings about Brahmi [ Bacopa Monnieri ] are described below.

Brahmi-derived from extract of Bacopa Monnieri- research data on memory & cognition

     Role of Brahmi in Alzheimer’s disease.

 Brahmi promotes free radical scavenger mechanisms and protects cells in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum of brain against cytotoxicity and DNA damage occurring in AD. It has antioxidant activity on nervous system. 

It has protective role on neurons.It also reduces lipoxygenase activity reducing lipid peroxidation, increases glutathione peroxidase and chelates iron. The plant extract can protect the cholinergic neurons and reduce anticholinesterase activity 

Deposition of β-amyloid is one of the major pathological change happening in Alzheimer’s disease.Brahmi also reduces hippocampal β-amyloid deposition and stress-induced hippocampal damage. Presence of amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau (τ) are the hallmark of progressive Alzheimer’s disease.

Saponins are the main active constituents of Brahmi extract responsible for most of its pharmacological actions.

 Several studies conjointly[meta-analysis] suggest that Bacopa Monnieri has the potential to improve cognition, particularly speed of attention but further extensive research is needed to provide definitive data on its efficacy to improve cognition in healthy or dementia patients [2].

How does Bacopa monnieri [Brahmi] influence memory and cognition in humans?

Currently available evidence suggests Brahmi acts via the following mechanisms:

·       anti-oxidant neuroprotection (via redox and enzyme induction)

·       acetylcholinesterase inhibition and/or choline acetyltransferase activation

·       β-amyloid reduction

·       increased cerebral blood flow

·       neurotransmitter modulation (acetylcholine [ACh], 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT], dopamine [DA])

A research study shows that Brahmi can improve memory & cognition as well as mood changes like depression and anxiety [Affect disorder]. However further extensive studies are recommended [4].

These research findings may have great implications in cognitive neuroscience branch of medicine and behavioural sciences if studied in large populations and under various clinical conditions with standardized research methods.

Drug interactions:

Taking bacopa Monnieri  might decrease the effects of anticholinergic drugs as the plant extract can increase acetylcholine.

Brahmi  has not shown any serious clinical, neurological, hematological complications, or vital organs damage in experimental studies. However its action on liver and interaction with other drugs within liver needs further studies beyond the probability speculations of liver damage or to claim safety.

In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned manufacturers of dietary supplement products containing Bacopa Monnieri against making illegal and unproven claims that the herb can treat various diseases.

However the studies cited here are authentic regarding their source and studies conclude that Bacopa Monnieri has some potential to improve cognition in humans and recommend further extensive research to find out its application in neuroscience as a supplement or drug more reliably.

References

1.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5448442/

2.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24252493/

3.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23772955/

4.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18611150/

5.    https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/10/4/536