Bacopa monnieri is an herb that has been used for a long time. Bacopa benefits have been mentioned in texts thousands of years old. In ancient Indian tradition, it is known as Brahmi.
Stress and brain performance supplementation are two of the fastest-growing trends in nutrition. Bacopa benefits may help – detailed in the clinical studies below.
Brain fog is an increasing complaint amongst adults both young and old as we all face the attention and focus needs of the digital, modern world.
Now discover how Bacopa may help…
Bacopa Benefits
Many know it just as “Bacopa”. It’s popular in stress-supportive supplements and the growing field of nootropics or “smart drug” supplements.
Bacopa benefits include helping your brain learn, remember things, focus, and process information better. It also helps with stress support and has been shown to lower cortisol levels.
The most well-known active compounds in Bacopa are “bacosides” (triterpenoid saponins). These groups of compounds help the brain and reduce stress among other Bacopa benefits for the body.
Bacopa may help support acetylcholine function in the body, one of the main neurotransmitters responsible for mental focus and attention. The active components also have antioxidant properties.(1; 2). Antioxidant benefits are wide-reaching, particularly in support of inflammation and protecting vulnerable tissues like the fragile blood vessel networks in the brain that support brain activity.
Other reported mechanisms of action of Bacopa may include promoting blood flow to the thinking areas of the brain, helping the brain modulate dopamine and serotonin, and possibly reducing plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Dopamine and acetylcholine support mental focus, learning, and concentration. Serotonin is linked with anxiety and mood.
The herb may also have general liver and nerve-protective properties (3).
I love when 2000+-year-old traditions are supported by modern science.
There are many studies that show that Bacopa monnieri can help people with brain performance, learning, memory, anxiety, ADD/ADHD symptoms, mood, and the reduction of cortisol levels.
The specific CDRI-08 strain of Bacopa used in Brain Fog Support is backed by six recent human placebo-controlled clinical trials.
A small double-blind placebo-controlled trial was done with 55-70-year-old men who had reported memory loss. The groups had 12 weeks of treatment and then 4 weeks off taking a placebo taking 125mg twice a day (250mg total).
Bacopa Benefits Backed by Human Clinical Trials (CDRI-08 Strain)
Clinical Trial 1:
Improvements occurred as early as 4 weeks and lasted through all 16 weeks, including the 4 weeks of placebo following the 12 weeks of active treatment. The authors reported significant improvements in a number of cognitive and learning outcomes.
Findings were found in a range of brain performance tests – specifically mental control, a number of memory tests, and a learning exercise (4).
Clinical Trial 2:
A 2nd randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 46 participants demonstrated positive benefits on visual processing, learning rate, memory consolidation, and anxiety as early as 5 weeks, but more pronounced at 12 weeks at a dose of 300mg (5).
Clinical Trial 3:
A 90-day randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 62 individuals taking 150mg of Bacopa twice a day. Working memory and visual processing improved significantly in the treatment group compared to the placebo (6)
Clinical Trial 4:
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial using 320mg and 640mg Bacopa reported improved multi-tasking performance. While both treatments saw improvements in sustained cognitive performance, 640mg just as beneficial as 320mg. Although a separate trial discussed next showed benefit at 640mg.
Clinical Trial 5:
A small 17-person study evaluated the effects of the CDRI-08 Bacopa strain and underwent evaluations for learning, cortisol level, mood, and anxiety. Groups were separated into placebo, 320mg, and 640mg in equal 4-capsule increments.
Findings suggest early adaptogenic, stress-supportive, and nootropic benefits from Bacopa monnieri CDRI-08 supplementation.
Significant improvements were reported over the 1 to 2 hours, notably at 2 hours for cortisol level:
Clinical Trial 6:
A double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 76 older adults ages 40-65 years old. Findings found better retention of learned information compared to 300mg CDRI-08 compared to placebo at one month and 3 months.
Interestingly, the benefits were sustained for up to 6 weeks without supplementation following the trial (8).
Bacopa Extract Benefits in Children
A systematic review detailed 5 studies that met inclusion criteria with children aged 4-18. The combined results demonstrated improvements in criteria related to language, behavior, memory, and ADD/ADHD (9).
When writing, working, or times I feel extra stress, I take 1-2 capsules of Brain Fog Support to take advantage of the clinically-backed benefits of the CDRI-08 strain of Bacopa.
