Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Safety of Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi) for Cognitive and Brain Enhancement

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Editorial
Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Safety of Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi)
for Cognitive and Brain Enhancement
Con Stough,1Hemant Singh,2,3 and Andrea Zangara1,4
1Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
2Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226031, India
3LumenResearchFoundation,No.2,1stCrossStreet,2ndAvenue,Chennai,TamilNadu600083,India
4NaturalPowerMeds Consulting SL, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Correspondence should be addressed to Con Stough; cstough@swin.edu.au
Received  July ; Accepted  July 
Copyright ©  Con Stough et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
e plant Bacopa monnieri (water hyssop, Brahmi, thyme-
leaved Gratiola, herb of grace, and Indian pennywort) is a
perennial, creeping herb native to the wet lands of India,
particularly northeast and southern regions. Bacopa is an
important plant of Ayurveda, where it is named as Brahmi,
aer Lord Brahma, the mythological creator of the world and
originator of the science of Ayurveda. Bacopa is frequently
mentioned in the religious, social, and medical treatises of
India since the time of Vedi c civilization. Its antiquity can be
tracedtothetimeofAthar Ved (the science of well-being)
writteninBCwhereBacopa nds a mention in the very
rst verse of the third chapter of Athar Samhita (compilation
on the factors promoting well-being).
More recently researchers have turned their attention to
better understanding the mechanisms and ecacy of various
extracts of Bacopa monnieri on human conditions. Although
extracts of Bacopa have been studied and used to treat various
disorders for centuries (pain, epilepsy, and inammation,
amongst many) perhaps the chief therapeutic claim concern-
ing its benets has been in improving memory. e Indian
government has invested signicant resources and conducted
hundreds of studies examining the mechanisms of action on
the brain and at a cellular level. Interestingly this research
has uncovered a myriad of possible mechanisms relating
to anti-inammatory, antioxidant, metal chelation, amyloid,
and cholinergic eects amongst many others. Although it is
not unusual for plant based medicines to have multiple eects
on cellular processes, Bacopa monnieri is perhaps one of the
most scientically studied in terms of mechanisms of action.
Interestingly these mechanisms seem to comprehensively
map on to the biological mechanisms that many researchers
have argued underpin cognitive and memory processes. In
 a special extract of Bacopa monnieri was launched by
the Indian Government’s Central Drug Research Institute,
Lucknow,termedCDRI.Itwasthoughtatthetimethat
this particular standardised extract had been subjected to the
most research and was the most promising extract for medica l
conditions. In  the three editors for this special issue
attended CDRI’s th research anniversary where a special
one-day symposium on research on CDRI  was held. It is
this extract of Bacopa monnieri that is the focus of most of
the papers in this special issue which reports studies relating
to the safety, mechanisms, and ecacy of specic extracts of
Bacopa monnieri.
Over the last ten years there have been growing scientic
studies on this interesting terrestrial herb. As can be seen in
Figure  the number of publications concerning Bacopa mon-
nieri is steadily growing reecting increasing scientic inter-
estinthisplantforhumanconditions.Mostofthesestudies
reect scientic endeavours relating to cellular mechanisms.
As such these studies are an excellent base to launch larger
clinical trials in humans. Although much is known about the
mechanisms of Bacopa extracts on the brain there are still
signicant gaps in our knowledge. For instance, long-term
chronic trials in older people are now required to understand
whether Bacopa extracts such as CDRI  can prevent age-
related cognitive decline or even more insidious diseases such
as Alzheimer’s dementia. We note that a number of studies
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2015, Article ID 717605, 2 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/717605

 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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F 
arealsocurrentlyexaminingtheeectofBacopa extracts
on improving cognitive and behavioural function in younger
people. Clearly the next decade will focus on larger clinical
trials in humans and expand upon the excellent animal and
preclinicalworkmainlyconductedinIndia.
Con Stough
Hemant Singh
Andrea Zangara