Bacopa Minnieri: Ayurvedic Wonder Supplement

[The Anonymizer]

This Ayurvedic herb helps synthesize neurons and strengthen worn-out ones in the hippocampus where memories are created and retrieved. Bacopa also has been studied in India for improvement of intellectual function in children, for its antianxiety effect, and for cortisol suppression. Dose is from 50-250mg 2 x/day.

It has been proposed that the mechanism behind the action of Bacopa is due to an increase in certain enzymes that aid in the repair of neurons and neuronal synthesis, synaptic activity, and ultimately nerve impulse transmission. Other research points to a protective antioxidant effect that may be responsible for the improved neuronal functioning seen with Bacopa administration.
Bacopa's traditional use as an anti-anxiety remedy in Ayurvedic medicine is supported by both animal and clinical research. Research using a rat model of clinical anxiety demonstrated a Bacopa extract of 25-percent bacoside A exerted anxiolytic activity comparable to Lorazepam, a common benzodiazapene anxiolytic drug. Importantly, the Bacopa extract did not induce amnesia, side effects associated with Lorazepam, but instead had a memory-enhancing effect.
Last but not least, in animal studies Bacopa has been shown to increase T(4) concentration by 41% without enhancing hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO) suggesting that it can be used as a thyroid-stimulating drug (31). In fact, hepatic LPO was decreased and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were increased by B. monnieri. LPO is a bad thing because it creates a chain reaction of cell-damaging free radicals. SOD and catalase on the other hand quench harmful free radicals.