Brahmi

Bacopa monniera

Brahmi is a perennial creeping herb with crinkled leaves and white flowers related to spinach and snapdragons. It grows floating in the waters of tropical marshes and wetlands in Florida, Central America, and India. The tops of the plant are used in herbal medicine. An important herb in ayurvedic medicine, brahmi is closely related to an herb with similar medicinal properties, gotu kola.

Other names

• Indian Pennywort
• Water Hyssop

Uses

Of all Indian herbal therapies, brahmi has been established as a powerful nerve and brain tonic. It is the main revitalizing herb for the nerves and the brain cells. It has a reputation for increasing intelligence, longevity, and circulation in the brain, improving both short-term and long-term memory, and decreasing senility and aging.

Traditional ayurvedic practitioners used the herb for a number of conditions, including blood cleansing, fevers, inflammations, joint pain, and a variety of skin problems. It also was known to stimulate hair, skin, and nail growth.

Benefits of brahmi for specific health conditions include the following:

• Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit disorder (ADD), memory problems, and Parkinson's disease. Brahmi is useful in treating a variety of conditions that involve impaired mental capacity. Laboratory studies indicate that brahmi improves intellectual function primarily by balancing the chemicals gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in the brain. This allows the orderly firing of nerve cells involved in verbal memory and symbol recognition.

The two main active ingredients in brahmi, bacosides A and B, have been shown to increase protein kinase activity and new protein synthesis in regions of the brain associated with long-term memory. Many studies have found that brahmi produces faster performance times, reduces errors, improves acquisition and retention of learning, decreases forgetfulness, and increases the ability to adapt to new learning.

In attention deficit disorder, brahmi has the additional benefit of minimizing the production of inflammatory chemicals that interfere with circulation in the brain. Because of the herb's calming effect-which does not interfere with normal physical activities-it has become the herb of choice for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Brahmi also acts as an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the brain, protecting the linings of cells in the brain from the action of toxic free radicals.

• Anxiety disorder and stress. Brahmi induces a sense of calm and peace. It helps reduce the restlessness and distraction that nervousness causes. Coupled with its unique ability to improve cognitive function, brahmi is ideal for those who spend time in stressful work or study environments.
• Irritable bowel syndrome. A study that evaluated brahmi in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome found the herb to have beneficial effects, especially if diarrhea was the predominant symptom.

Considerations

Brahmi is available as a bacoside extract in tablet form. In ayurvedic medicine, brahmi is used as a rasayana, a traditional formulation that includes spices and honey to make a palatable mixture. The effectiveness of brahmi is increased by simultaneous supplementation with inositol and/ or a B-vitamin complex. For best results, adults should take 3,000 milligrams one or twice daily. It may take four weeks to see an improvement. Brahmi is best taken at the beginning of the day and again in mid to late afternoon, or before doing meditation or yoga.

The herb is often combined with the circulatory boosters ginkgo and lecithin. These herbs have independent modes but work well synergistically to improve cognitive function.

Women with conditions of excess estrogen production (or who take estrogen replacement therapy or birth control pills) should avoid brahmi, since an interaction between estrogen and increased GABA can cause temporary hearing loss.

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