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What is Bacopa Monniera? Bacopa
Monniera is a small, creeping herb with light purple flowers. It
grows prolifically in wet soil, shallow water and marshes in India
and the Tropics. The
plantis
known as brahmi in India, 'ae'ae in Hawai'i, and otomeazene in Japan.
For centuries it has been used as a ‘brain tonic’ to enhance
memory and concentration as well as providing positive benefits for
sufferers of epilepsy and anxiety. For over a thousand years it has
played an important part in the tradition
of Ayurveda,
a
system of Indian folk medicine.
Western
reserachers have focused on Bacopa’s cognitive benfits –
specifically its ability to improve memory, learning and
concentration.
The
active constituents that have been identified in Bacopa Monniera
include the
alkaloids Brahmine and herpestine, saponins d-mannitol and
hersaponin, acid A, monnierin, betulic acid, stigmastarol,
beta-sitosterol.
All of these are believed to be responsible for the pharmacological
benefits of bacopa. Bacosides
A and B.5 are the compounds that researchers believe are responsible
for it’s cognitive effects (Chatterji
N, Rastorgi RP, Dhar ML. Chemical examination of Bacopa monniera
Wettst. Part I: isolation of chemical constituents. Indian
J Chem
1963;1:212).
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