What makes bacopa good for memory?

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

The key player is what’s contained in the bacopa – antioxidants. These antioxidants protect your brain cells, making them healthier and stronger thus enhancing your memory and concentration. Aside from improving your memory, bacopa helps improve your learning comprehension and processing skills. These antioxidants also help calm the nerves reducing the effects of stress on the brain which in turn relieves any symptoms related to nervous exhaustion, depression and anxiety.

Bacopa Monniera’s active constituents include alkaloids Brahmine and herpestine, acid A, monnierin, saponins d-mannitol and hersaponin, abetulic acid, stigmastarol, beta-sitosterol. The compounds mentioned are believed to be the source of the pharmacological benefits of bacopa.

How Bacopa Helps Memory

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

The society dictates the latest trend. Whether it promotes a healthy and safe lifestyle or not, people always want to be in on the trend. Good thing though as the trend these days is for people to subscribe to holistic treatments and organic lifestyle. Since herbal products are taking the limelight today, no wonder bacopa extract is becoming a hot commodity.

Originating from naturally grown plants, bacopa is guaranteed safe for the body; while various researches and a number of experiments conducted can attest to its effectiveness as an herbal solution.

In today’s current situation – specifically, economic-wise, consumers can’t afford to waste money on bogus and ineffective products. Aside from the risk of unwanted complications, there is still a chance that you’re just burning money for an empty product. Hence, it’s always wise to subscribe to natural commodities with solid background to it.

A genus of water-dwelling plants, Bacopa monniera is a small creeping plant commonly found in India’s wetlands. The plant is also referred to as brahmi, a nod to Brahma, Hindu’s creator of the universe. Often mistaken as a water lily because of its small white flower, this water hyssop is responsible for producing bacopa extract which helps treat a number mental and physical condition.

Among the numerous advantages consumers can get from bacopa is its ability to improve the human memory. Regular intake of the extract helps prevent any cardial problems associated with the body’s nerves like forgetfulness, memory loss and even arthritis. This is because bacopa nourishes both the brain and nerves.Bacopa comes highly recommended when it comes to enhancing the brain’s functionality. It becomes harder to extract memories as well as retain relevant matters as the human body and brain get older. With the regular intake of bacopa, the human brain is able to retain its capabilities far longer than those without bacopa in their blood system.

Traditionally used as a brain tonic by those living in India, its ability to restore and nourish the nervous system is widely recognized, and further developed by modern science through extensive research and tests.

Bacopa for Memory

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Bacopa monnieri enhances human memory. It is a small, creeping herb with light purple flowers endemic in India and the Tropics. It grows in wet soil, shallow water and the marshes.

Traditionally, this herb is used to treat variety of health problems in India and to cure those suffering from memory and mental decline. The locals of India refer to it as Brahmi in the Ayurvedic texts. Scholars believed the name originated from Lord Brahma which is the Hindu creator of the world.

As approved by clinical research and trials, Bacopa monnieri is proven to decrease the rate of forgetting newly acquired information, reduce short term memory loss and increase verbal learning as well as increase memory recall. This level of improvement is proven through different brain researches wherein a control group was given a modulated dosage of Bacopa monnieri extracts daily. It was tested on patients with mild to severe Alzheimer’s disease, and children with memory and mental deficiency.

What was used as a traditional medicine in the 6th A.D in India is now a well known dietary supplement. It is also a good source of antioxidants, a nervine, diuretic and cardiac tonic. It is proven to be effective in reducing stress, nervousness and depression. Its usage was even more popular because of enhanced memory, comprehension and mental clarity.

So far there is no known side effect associated to the usage of Bacopa monnieri extracts. It does not have any addictive or habituation potential and no significant data have been presented mentioning allergic reactions triggered by the supplement. If the herb was not properly cleaned and processed the only known problem would be gastrointestinal infection. Because of its reliability, it is now widely promoted not only in Asia but in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Aside from Bacopa monnieri there are also other botanical remedies known to be with memory enhancing capacities. Dietary manufacturers are considering combining Bacopa monnieri with Gingko biloba which slows the progression of dementia, the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) an amino acid derivative which is a cognitive enhancer, and the brain cell nutrient called as Phosphatidyl serine or PS which will make the supplement even stronger and more effective. The active components in Bacopa monnieri called steroidal saponins or bacosides A and B enhances brain function.

Now, the famous Ayurvedic Products in India no longer exists in their country alone. Today its usage is widespread in all nations seeking aid from the scientifically validated herbal nutrient. Those who significantly want to improve their lifestyle, mental disposition and quality of living are seeking refuge in the many benefits Bacopa monnieri has to offer. In turn this need is used by manufacturers to supply and create more capsules of Bacopa monnieri extract.

What is Bacopa?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

What is Bacopa?

There’s a new “miracle” herb in the market today. Bacopa monnieri, also known as water hyssop, thyme-leafed gratiola, brahmi and coastal waterhyssop, is a tropical perennial herb that grows and creeps on muddy shores and wetlands. Bacopa is commonly found in marshy places in Nepal, India, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and even in several states of the US including Hawaii and Florida. The leaves of this herb are thick and succulent, oblanceolate in shape and typically arranged oppositely on the plant’s stem. Bacopa’s flowers are white and small that have four to five petals. It’s a popular aquarium plant that can also grow in brackish areas. You can propagate bacopa by using their cuttings and planting them on wet locations on your yard.

Bacopa in History

The plant has been in existence for thousands of years. In fact, it has been part of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine in India. Ayurvedic doctors call bacopa “brahmi” from the name of the Hindu god of creation Brahma. Practitioners used bacopa as a memory-enhancing substance, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, anti-epileptic and sedative agent. Among these multiple uses of the bacopa plant, researchers and medical experts have been most interested in its memory-enhancing capabilities.

The Orient Influencing the Occident

Specifically, doctors of Western medicine have their interests sparked by bacopa. In fact, a growing trend in Western medicine sees the influence of the Orient through the concept of the body, mind and spirit’s wellness. Western health practitioners have been realizing the importance of balance among these three to attain good health.

In the Occident, physicians tend to take the mind, body and spirit as distinct and separate entities that must be treated differently. They also rely on the high-tech methods of diagnosing and treating diseases, thus, the concept of the body, mind and spirit wellness needs some time for the doctors to get used to. A few of these Western medicine practitioners are trying their best to become more enlightened about the medical practice of the Orient by assimilating belief systems into their own and embracing principles proven by evidences. Many are now accepting the use of natural herb products such as the bacopa extract in treating a gamut of illnesses.

Bacopa’s Effectiveness Tested

Just last year, scientists in Australia conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind twelve-week study to learn more about the effects of bacopa on different cognitive functions, especially on memory. They have 46 healthy human subjects (35 women and 11 men) aged 18 to 60 who were given a battery of 16 validated neuropsychological tests. One group was given 150 mg of placebo capsules to be taken twice a day while the other group was given the same amount of bacopa capsules.

The result of the tests

According to the researchers, those who have taken bacopa capsules everyday have shown the following results:

Significantly improved memory
Reduced anxiety
Reduced stress and depression
Better concentration, focus and attention
Bacopa also has antioxidant properties

Aside from these, several studies also saw bacopa’s potential to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.