What is Bacopa Monnieri?
Bacopa monnieri is a creeping, perennial herb that grows naturally in Australia, India, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Its common names include water hyssop (also spelled waterhyssop), thyme-leafed gratiola, brahmi, Indian pennywort, and herb of grace.
Throughout history, bacopa monnieri has been extremely popular in ayurvedic medicine, though it has yet to be proven to quite the same extent using scientific studies. In spite of the relative lack of a body of existing evidence, the wide range of anecdotal evidence related to homeopathic medicine bacopa monnieri use has led to additional study of the herb over time.
Compared to other bacopa species, bacopa monnieri features a much wider distribution, as we noted earlier on. The herb mainly grows in marshes and swamplands, though it isn’t quite as widespread in America as it is in other countries, being confined mainly to Texas, Hawaii, Florida, and Louisiana.
How to Grow Bacopa Monnieri
The most important thing to remember when learning how to propagate bacopa monnieri is that it needs a warm and wet area in which to grow. The plant can easily dry out and die if it is left in conditions that are too dry, though its growth may also end up threatening an amateur botanist because of its matting qualities.
As the plant grows larger and larger, it will spread more and more, to the point that its growth may end up becoming exponential. You’ll need to be ready to put a lot of work into trimming the plant when growing bacopa monnieri, and if you’re not up to the task, it may end up overtaking the rest of the area that you’re using to grow it.
Bacopa Monnieri Benefits
Bacopa Monnieri for Brain
Some of the most recent studies on bacopa monnieri have been focused on the herb’s ability to help boost brain function. The herb is able to improve cognitive abilities by making it easier to learn spatial concepts and retain the information that you learn in the long-term, though this test has only been conducted on mice.
That very same study went over the ability of bacopa monnieri to improve branching and dendritic length. The herb has also been tested on human beings over the course of a 12-week study and it found that it made it easier for them to process visual information, it improved their memory, and their learning rate.
Bacopa Monnieri Weight Loss
While a direct link between bacopa monnieri and weight loss has yet to be established in scientific literature, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that it can do so. In spite of the lack of a body of concrete evidence, some studies have shown that it’s able to lower blood pressure levels.
This is due to bacopa monnieri’s ability to reduce diastolic and systolic blood pressure levels in animal studies. Scientists mentioned that additional studies are required in humans because another study showed that it had no effect on the blood pressure levels of older adults over the course of a 12-week period.
Bacopa Monnieri Alzheimer Treatment
The main evidence for bacopa monnieri reducing the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and dementia comes from a study that showed that it helps reduce oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a major cause of these diseases, as it’s a process that gradually degrades brain function over the course of our lifespans.
This study went into how bacopa monnieri is able to neutralise free radicals and their interaction with fat molecules, which leads to lipid peroxidation.
Is Bacopa Monnieri Safe?
Bacopa monnieri UK sources usually sell safe and unadulterated versions of the herb, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t cause side effects in its users. Some of the most common side effects of bacopa monnieri are digestively oriented, including nausea, diarrhoea, and stomach cramps.
However, bacopa monnieri tends to be relatively safe due to the lack of severe side effects. In most cases, side effects are caused by consuming too much of the herb, though that isn’t always the case. It’s also possible that you’ll find yourself suffering from these effects if you’re allergic to the herb.
Bacopa Monnieri Half Life
Bacopa monnieri has a moderate half life of between 12 and 15 hours, though the peak effects will arrive a lot sooner than that. If ingesting the herb orally, you’ll experience the peak of the effects between two and four hours after the herb enters your system.