Bacopa Monnieri

(Last Updated On: January 6, 2019)

Contents

1 Overview
2 Where to Purchase Bacopa
3 Dosage Information
4 References

Overview

Bacopa Monnieri is a nootropic herb with a history of medicinal use in India (Ayurvedic medicine) with strong adaptogenic and nootropic properties.

Bacopa has demonstrated immense potential for preventing cognitive disorders and causes cognitive enhancement in both healthy people¹www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746283/ and the elderly⁷www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18611150. In terms of cognitive enhancement, it appears to most strongly enhance memory²www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20590480³www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12093601⁴www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18683852⁵www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20703343⁶www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11498727⁷www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18611150.

Bacopa is often used to improve mood, as it has been shown to to a strong antidepressive and anxiolytic effects⁷www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18611150⁸www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11498727⁹www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21046986¹⁰www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17343408¹¹www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12046860, as well as stress-reducing properties¹⁶www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12957224¹⁷www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12410544.

Bacopa has also been shown to provide neuroprotection¹⁶www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12957224¹⁸www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17604373¹⁹www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21366957²⁰www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22366895²¹www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8792640²²www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8792640²³www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17189676, and prevent neuroinflammation¹⁸ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17604373²⁴ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22198697.

Bacopa increases levels of serotonin in the hippocampus, and prevents depletion of dopamine and serotonin after exposure to neurotoxins or in people with Parkinson’s disease, which further demonstrates its efficacy as adaptogen¹³www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17321089¹⁴www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22160863¹⁵www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19744517.

Bacopa is a bit of an underdog in the natural nootropics market, but it shows a lot of promise. More high quality research will be needed to determine it’s full potential.

Where to Purchase Bacopa

Bacopa may be purchased at Nootropics Depot.

I recommend Nootropics Depot because they have been around for a long time and have maintained a solid reputation. They have excellent quality control metrics: they do in-house testing as well as independent 3rd-party testing, and they have certificates of analysis available for all of their products.

Dosage Information

The standard dose for bacopa monnieri is 300mg with a 50% of the extract¹² www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3153866/ . In powder form, taking 750-1500mg of the leaf or powder would yield similar results. Bacopa monnieri is fat soluble and should be taken with meals. When taken on an empty stomach it may cause GI problems and not be absorbed properly.