Brahmi - Thyme - Leaved Gratiola

Brahmi - Bacopa monnieri is a nervine tonic, a memory booster. It enhances learning, academic performance and improves mental ability.
Bacopa monnieri is a small, creeping herb that contains the alkaloids brahmine, herpestine, and a mixture of three bases. It also contains the saponins monnierin, hersaponin, bacoside A and bacoside B. The entire plant constitutes the well-known drug Brahmi. The drug is astringent, bitter and cooling, and reportedly improves the intellect. It is used in Ayurveda for the treatment of asthma, hoarseness, insanity and epilepsy and is also a potent nerve tonic, cardiotonic, aperient and diuretic. It acts as an anti-anxiety agent and also calms restlessness in children and is used in several mental disorders.
The alcoholic extract of the plant is useful as a tranquilizer in rats and dogs. It is also useful for smooth musculature relaxation and as an antispasmodic. The alcoholic extract of the plant effected cerebral amino acid levels in mice, acetyl cholinesterase activity of mice, cerebral tissues and mouse brain. The extract was also anti-cancer. Treatment with the plant produced improvement in maze learning in albino rats.

Brahmi Brahmi has been used for centuries to help benefit memory capacity, increase concentration, and reduce stress-induced anxiety.

Medicinal Benefits

This plant has a number of uses in Ayurveda. It is a traditional treatment for epilepsy and asthma. It has anti-oxidant properties, reducing oxidation of fats in the bloodstream. Studies in humans show that an extract of the plant has anti-anxiety effects.

It is listed as a nootropic, a drug that enhances cognitive ability. In India, this plant has also been used traditionally to consecrate newborn babies in the belief that it will open the gateway of intelligence. Laboratory studies on rats indicate that extracts of the plant improve memory capacity and motor learning ability. Recent studies suggest bacopa may improve intellectual activity. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial, human subjects taking an extract of Bacopa monniera showed significantly improved performance on tests for spatial working memory and rapid visual information processing. The sulfhydryl and polyphenol components of Bacopa monniera extract have also been shown to impact the oxidative stress cascade by scavenging reactive oxygen species, inhibiting lipoxygenase activity and reducing divalent metals. This mechanism of action may explain the effect of Bacopa monniera extract in reducing beta-amyloid deposits in mice with Alzheimer's disease.

Safety

A standardized Bacopa monniera preparation was evaluated for safety and tolerability in 23 healthy adult volunteers. Participants took 300 mg of the extract daily for 15 days, followed by 450 mg/daily for the subsequent 15 days. No adverse effects were observed in biochemical, electrocardiographic, hematological or clinical parameters in the post-treatment vs. the pre-treatment period. There were some reports of mild gastrointestinal symptoms that resolved spontaneously.

Indications
It is used in Behavioral disorders and Memory disturbances