Research

Preclinical reports:
^[1] Bacosides aid in Repair of damaged neurons by enhancing kinase activity, neuronal synthesis, and restoration of synaptic activity, and ultimately nerve impulse transmission. ^[2] Based on animal study results, bacosides appear to have antioxidant activity in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and striatum. ^[3] Animal research has shown Bacopa extracts modulate the expression of certain enzymes involved in generation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species in brain. ^[4] In vitro research has shown Bacopa exert a protective effect against DNA damage in astrocytes. ^[5] In vitro research has shown Bacopa exert a protective effect against DNA damage in human fibroblasts. ^[6] Protection from Phenytoin (PHT) induced cognitive deficit Passive Avoidance Task Dose:Bacopa extract 40 mg/kg p.o.,7 days Phenytoin 25, mg/kg p.o., 14 days.2 hrs and 24 hrs post training Decrease in Step Down Latency(SDL), increase in Step Down Error (SDE) and Time spent in Shock Zone (TSZ) due to PHTIncrease in SDL, decrease in SDE and TSZ due to BM Combined treatment caused increase in SDL, decrease in SDE and in TSZ compared to PHT treated group. ^[7] Effect on Cerebral Amino Acid Levels in Mice.Alcoholic extract of Bacopa 100 mg/kg i.p. was given to study effect on GABA metabolism.A profound increase in GABA levels at 15 mins.After this a gradual fall in GABA levels with a concomitant rise in glutamine level.Glutamate levels remain high but more or less steady.
1. Singh HK, Dhawan BN. (1997) Indian J Pharmacol 1997;29:S359-S365
2. Bhattacharya et al., (2000). Phytother Res;14:174-179.
3. Chowdhuri et al., (2002). Phytother Res 2002;16:639-645.
4. Russo et al., (2003) Life Sci ;73:1517-1526
5. Russo et al., (2003) Phytotherapy Res ;17:870-875.
6. Vohra, Pal, Pillai; 2000, Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 71; 383–390
7. Dey and Dutta, 1966 Ind. J Exp Biol. 4; 216-219)
Clinical reports.
Numerous clinical studies have been carried out to date to establish the efficacy of BM in memory and attention disorders and to study its acute and chronic effects clinically on cognitive function. A study was conducted to measure the effect of BME on human memory. ^[1] Seventysix adults aged between 40 and 65 years volunteered for the doubleblind randomized, placebo control study. The results showed a significant effect of BME on the test for the retention of new information. In the followup tests, it was found that the rate of learning was unaffected, suggesting that BM decreases the rate of forgetting of newly acquired information. In adults, only chronic administration was shown to enhance cognitive effects. In a doubleblind, placebocontrolled trial of 38 healthy volunteers (ages 1860), subjects were given a single dose of 300 mg BME (standardized to 55% combined bacosides A and B) or placebo. ^[2] Subjects were tested 2 h after drug administration, coinciding with maximum pharmacodynamic effect. Acute administration of this dose of BME resulted in no significant changes in cognitive function when compared to baseline values. On the other hand, significant cognitive enhancing benefits have been demonstrated with more chronic administration of BME, as demonstrated in a double blind, placebo-controlled, 12week trial utilizing the same patient selection criteria and same dose of BME (300 mg daily) containing 55% combined bacosides. ^[3] At the end of the 12week study, results indicated a significant improvement in verbal learning, memory consolidation and speed of early information processing in the treatment group compared to placebo. These effects were not observed at baseline or at 5 weeks. These results were attributed to BM's antioxidant properties and/or its effect on the cholinergic system. ^[3] BM's ability to modulate or enhance cognitive function has also been studied in children. ^[4] In another double blind,randomized, placebo controlled trial of 36 children with diagnosed attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was conducted over a 16week period. ^[5] Nineteen children received an extract of BM, standardized to contain 20% bacosides at a dosage of 50 mg twice daily for 12 weeks, and 17 subjects were given a placebo. Active drug treatment was followed by 4 weeks of placebo and the children were evaluated on numerous cognitive function tests at baseline, 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. Asignificant benefit was observed in BMtreated subjects at 12 weeks as evidenced by improvement on sentence repetition, logical memory and paired associated learning tasks. Evaluation showed that these improvements were maintained at 16 weeks after 4 weeks placebo administration. ^[5] In one double blind, placebocontrolled randomized study, the efficacy of standardized BME (SBME) in subjects with age associated memory impairment (AAMI) without any evidence of dementia or psychiatric disorder was evaluated. The subjects received either 125 mg of SBME or placebo twice a day for a period of 12 weeks followed by a placebo period of another 4 weeks (total duration of the trial 16 weeks). SBME produced significant improvement in mental control, logical memory and paired associated learning during the 12 week drug therapy. SBME was found to be efficacious in subjects with age associated memory impairment. ^[6]
1. Roodenrys A, Booth D, Bulzomi A, Phipps A, Micallef C, Smoker J. Chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) on human memory. Neuropsychopharmacol 2002;27:27981.
2. Nathan PJ, Clarke J, Lloyd J, Hutchison CW, Downey L, Stough C.The acute effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy normal subjects. Hum Psychopharmacol 2001;16:34551.
3. Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, Downey LA, Hutchison CW, Rodgers T, et al. The chronic effects of an extract ofBacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects.Psychopharmacol 2001;156:4814.
4. Sharma R, Chaturvedi C, Tewari PV. Efficacy of Bacopa monnieri in revitalizing intellectual functions in children. J Res Edu Ind Med 1987;1:112.
5. Negi KS, Singh YD, Kushwaha KP, Rastogi CK, Rathi AK, Srivastava JS, et al. Clinical evaluation of memory enhancing properties of Memory Plus in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ind J Psychiatry2000;42:Supplement.
6. Raghav S, Singh RS, Dalal H, Srivastava PK, Asthana JS. Randomized controlled trial of standardized Bacopa monniera extract in age associated memory impairment. Ind J Psychiatry 2006;48:23842.

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