Give Your Brain a Boost with Bacopa

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Help for ADHD in Children

Bacopa’s positive influences also are seen in children. In one study from India, published in the Journal of Research and Education in Indian Medicine, healthy children aged 6 to 8 who took bacopa syrup daily for four weeks not only solved problems more quickly and accurately, but they also showed greater exploratory behavior — a key ingredient of curiosity, attention and motivation. Children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also have been shown to benefit. Another Indian study of 8- to 9-year-olds, published in 2000, found that children who received bacopa extract twice daily for 12 weeks did better on tests, such as sentence repetition, logical memory and paired associate learning tasks (the ability to recall pairs of items presented together). It is not surprising, then, that bacopa syrup is commonly given to schoolchildren in India.

Scientists have really only begun to dig into the mysteries of this plant. Work is progressing on many fronts, including bacopa’s antioxidant actions, antimicrobial properties and its possible capacity to combat cancer, cardiovascular problems, gastrointestinal disorders and respiratory ailments. What appears to be emerging is that bacopa may have an adaptogenic effect, meaning it strengthens the body’s overall resistance to stress and disease.

Clean Your Central Nervous System

Bacopa apparently provides a specialized cleansing and repair system for our nervous system. Its “memory chemicals” are unique saponins known as bacosides. Saponins are natural detergents present in many plants and are commonly used in soaps because of their foaming action. They help flush out damaging chemicals, such as free radicals and excess cholesterol, from the body, protecting molecules such as DNA from damage. The key ones in bacopa, bacoside A and B, are a mixture of saponins that further serve to repair damaged nerve cell connections by aiding protein synthesis, thereby allowing nerves to transmit signals more effectively. The bacosides, combined with many other chemicals in the plant — such as useful alkaloids, sterols and flavonoids — provide a well-stocked cache of brain and nerve foods to boost learning and memory.

What can this mean to people at risk for, say, Alzheimer’s disease? The main feature of this ailment is a loss of nerve-cell function in the brain’s hippocampus, and animal studies indicate bacosides have antioxidant activity in the hippocampus as well as the frontal cortex and striatum. This suggests they may help protect the integrity of the brain’s nerve cells in these regions and perhaps deter the onset or development of the disease.

Wonder Weed, Indeed!

Learning, memory, motor function and even anxiety relief — a lot of benefits from one plant, especially one considered a mere weed in its native India. This aquatic weed has now adopted many other countries, including the United States, where it is found in Florida, Hawaii and many other states. It withstands extremes of weather, temperature and elevation. In fact, it’s hard to kill a bacopa plant as long as there is sufficient water around — which is why it’s also a popular aquarium plant. In these watery environments, saponins are an advantage, because they discourage fish and microbes from dining on the plant.

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