Bacopa monniera - Monograph

Alternative Medicine Review, March, 2004

Side Effects and Toxicity

Therapeutic doses of Bacopa are not associated with any known side effects, and Bacopa has been used safely in Ayurvedic medicine for several hundred years. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthy male volunteers investigated the safety of pharmacological doses of isolated bacosides over a four-week period. Concentrated bacosides given in single (20-30 mg) and multiple (100-200 mg) daily doses were well tolerated and without adverse effects. (10) The LD50 of Bacopa extracts administered orally to rats was 5 g/kg for aqueous extracts and 17 g/kg of the alcohol extract. Neither extract resulted in gross behavioral changes at these concentrations. (27)

Dosage

Traditional daily doses of Bacopa are 5-10 o of non-standardized powder, 8-16 mL of infusion, and 30 mL daily of syrup (Brahmi). Dosages of a 1:2 fluid extract are 5-12 mL per day for adults and 2.5-6 mL per day for children ages 6-12. For Bacopa extracts standardized to 20-percent bacosides A and B the dosage is 200-400 mg daily in divided doses for adults, and for children, 100-200 mg daily in divided doses.

References

(1.) Mukheijee DG, Dey CD. Clinical trial on Brahmi. I. J Exper Med Sci 1966:10:5-11.

(2.) Chopra RN. Indigenous Drugs of India. 2nd ed. Calcutta, India: U.N. Dhur and Sons: 1958:341.

(3.) Nadkarni KM. The Indian Maleria Medica. Columbia, MO: South Asia Books: 1988:624-625.

(4.) Bone K. Clinical Applications of Ayurvedic and Chinese Herbs: Monographs for the Western Herbal Practitioner. Warwick, Queensland: Phytotherapy Press; 1996.

(5.) Kapoor LD. CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Inc; 1990;61.

(6.) Chakravarty AK, Garai S, Masuda K, et al. Bacopasides III-V: three new triterpenoid glycosides from Bacopa monniera. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2003;51:215-217.

(7.) Hou CC, Lin SJ, Cheng JT, Hsu FL. Bacopaside HI, bacopasaponin G, and bacopasides A, B, and C from Bacopa monniera. J Nat Prod 2002;65:1759-1763.

(8.) Mahato SB, Garai S, Chakravarty AK. Bacopasaponins E and F: two jujubogenin bisdesmosides from Bacopa monniera. Phytochemistry 2000;53:711-714.

(9.) Chakravarty AK, Sarkar T, Masuda K, et al. Bacopaside I and II: two pseudojujubogenin glycosides from Bacopa monniera. Phytochemistry 2001;58:553-556.

(10.) Singh HK, Dhawan BN. Neuropsychopharmacological effects of the Ayurvedic nootropic Bacopa monniera Linn. (Brahmi). Indian J Pharmacol 1997;29:S359-S365.

(11.) Enz A, Amstutz R, Boddeke H, et al. Brain selective inhibition of acetylcholinesterase: a novel approach to therapy for Alzheimer's disease. Prog Brain Res 1993;98:431-438.

(12.) Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Kumar A, Ghosal S. Antioxidant activity of Bacopa monniera in rat frontal cortex, striamm, and hippocampus. Phytother Res 2000;14:174-179.

(13.) Chowdhuri DK, Pannar D, Kakkar P, et al. Antistress effects of bacosides of Bacopa monnieri: modulation of Hsp70 expression, superoxide dismutase and cytochrome P450 activity in rat brain. Phytother Res 2002;16:639-645.