Bacopa Monnieri

Bacopa monnieri · Brahmi · Bacopa · Bacosides

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Memory and learning¹ Attention speed² Stress reactivity³ Mental fatigue³ Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder⁴	Pregnancy or nursing⁵ Children under 18⁵

Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi) is an Ayurvedic herb used for centuries as a memory enhancer, with leaf extracts standardized to bacosides⁶. It is proposed to act through neurotransmission and oxidative stress pathways⁷. People take it for memory and learning, for inattention in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and for stress and fatigue. Typical users are middle-aged and older adults with memory or attention complaints³.

A meta-analysis of randomized trials found faster attention and reaction times with chronic extract use. A 2025 trial in adults with memory complaints found no cognitive gain over placebo, only lower stress reactivity³. In Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment, a trial found no difference from donepezil and ended early⁸. In a 2025 mouse model of Parkinson's disease, an extract reversed hippocampal changes tied to memory decline; no human trial has tested this. Products listing Bacopa monnieri number 891, mostly capsules, with powders and liquids; see Form comparison.

Health Canada labels ask for a practitioner's advice before use in pregnancy or breastfeeding⁹ and list digestive problems as a known reaction⁹. In vitro, the extract inhibited several enzymes that metabolize medications, so interaction risk rests on laboratory data¹⁰.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

73 sources, 59 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources