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Traditional Medicines for Mental Health
Published in Abhai Kumar, Debasis Bagchi, Antioxidants and Functional Foods for Neurodegenerative Disorders, 2021
Smita Singh, Anup Singh, Abhai Kumar, Rameshwar Nath Chaurasia
Bacopa monnieri is found throughout the Indian subcontinent in wet, damp, and marshy areas. Bacopa monnieri is used as a memory-enhancing, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, sedative, and antiepileptic agent, which acts as a nootropic (repairing damaged neurons and improving brain function) (Russo & Borrelli, 2005). The two main constituents bacoside A and bacoside B were found from plant extracts. Bacoside A was identified as compound 3-(a-L-arabinopyranosyl)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside-10, 20-dihydroxy-16-keto-dammar-24-ene (Singh et al., 1990). The neuroprotective role of bacoside was determined by the inhibition of lipoxygenase activity and reduced free radicals. The site of action of bacoside was seen in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum (Singh & Dhawan, 1992). It reduces cytotoxicity and repairs DNA damage by enhancing nitric oxide-mediated cerebral vasodilatation and improving memory (Dutta et al., 2017). Other studies have reported its role in membrane regulation and phosphorylation/dephosphorylation processes, which further increases proteins and RNA in certain region of brain like hippocampus (Ramakrishnan & Sumathi, 2007). The half-lives of bacosides in blood circulation and brain are still under research while clinical trials on human subjects have proven a profound improvement in working and learning memory using Bacopa monnieri (Stough et al., 2001, 2008, Morgan & Stevens, 2010, Chaudhari et al., 2017).
Aquatic Plants Native to Asia and Australia
Published in Namrita Lall, Aquatic Plants, 2020
Marco Nuno De Canha, Danielle Twilley, B. Venugopal Reddy, SubbaRao V. Madhunapantula, N. P. Deepika, T. N. Shilpa, B. Duraiswamy, S. P. Dhanabal, Suresh M. Kumar, Namrita Lall
This species has several uses, both medicinal and as a food source. The leaves of B. monnieri can be prepared in a few ways including the raw form used in salads, the cooked form as a vegetable, or additive in soups and pickling. It is popular in the ancient practice of Ayurveda. It is particularly well-known for its effect on the nervous system to improve memory and intellect (Russo and Borrelli 2005). This plant has been reported for the treatment of neuralgia and epilepsy (Kapoor 2017). It is also used as a sedative and vasoconstrictor. Bacopa monnieri is an herb which has been used as a brain tonic and is recommended to lower anxiety and boost cognition (Russo and Borrelli 2005). It has been reported to treat cognitive disorders and lack of concentration. It has also been used as an anti-inflammatory agent for asthma, bronchitis, and rheumatism (Channa et al. 2006).
Preclinical Antidepressant-Like Effects of Terpenes, Polyphenolics, and Other Non-Flavonoid Phytochemicals
Published in Scott Mendelson, Herbal Treatment of Major Depression, 2019
Bacopasides are steroid-like triterpene saponins isolated from the medicinal herb, Bacopa monnieri. There are at least eleven variants of bacopaside found in the plant. Bacopa monnieri is revered in Ayurvedic medicine and has been used for thousands of years for enhancement of memory and general cognitive function. It has also found use as a tonic, tranquilizer, and sedative to treat “mental strain, insanity, epilepsy, hysteria, esthenia, and nervous breakdown.”19
Glioblastoma: The Weed of the Brain
Published in Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 2022
Anna Roberts, Mark Roughley, Caroline Wilkinson
Researcher, Tejas Athni, explores the potential of the Bacopa Monnieri plant to reduce the spread of Glioblastoma due to its anti-cancer property, Bacoside A (Athni, 2017). Before considering the Bacopa Monnieri as an anti-cancer treatment, the plant was previously used within Ayurvedic medicine1. The plant was considered an ancient herbal remedy to improve memory retention, thinking and cognitive skills, which attests to the plant’s neurological capabilities. By understanding the medicinal nature of plants, we may be able to understand more about their effect on disease and the body. Merging botany and medicine in a transdisciplinary framework could facilitate novel treatments and ways of engaging with translational/scientific research; through knowledge exchange across disciplines; as discussed in the paper ‘Transdisciplinary approaches enhance the production of translational knowledge’ by, (Ciesielski et al. 2017).
The Evolving Roles of Bacopa monnieri as Potential Anti-Cancer Agent: A Review
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2021
Sudeepa Ghosh, Rahmat Khanam, Avik Acharya Chowdhury
Bacopa monnieri is an important medicinal plant with many biologically active constituents which are capable of acting against different types of cancer. Originally, rendering its outstanding effects on various neurological disorders, this plant gained interests of scientists for further research areas. The constituents purified from the plant leaf extract evidenced to have specific efficacy against different cancer cell types which ultimately leads to cell death by modulating specific signaling pathways, arresting at specific stage of cell cycle or by simply delivering cytotoxicity even by activating autophagic pathway in a way that remains nontoxic toward the normal cells (Fig. 2). Moreover, neuroblastoma, colon cancer, prostate cancer all these deadly diseases are documented to be sensitive toward Bacopa. These studies undeniably have opened up a new horizon in medicinal research with the application of a medicinal plant.
The engagement of brain cytochrome P450 in the metabolism of endogenous neuroactive substrates: a possible role in mental disorders
Published in Drug Metabolism Reviews, 2018
Anna Haduch, Władysława Anna Daniel
Studies on animal models of psychological stress, like repeated restraint stress (RS), early-life maternal deprivation (MD), or chronic mild stress (CMS) indicate that psychological stress can modify expression of hepatic CYP isoforms in a stress-specific way (Konstandi 2013; Daskalopoulos et al. 2012; Kot et al. 2017). However, there is little research on the effect of stress on CYP enzymes in the brain. One study showed that stress (cold-hypoxic restraint) significantly induced the CYP1A1 and CYP2B1/2 activity in several brain structures – in the hippocampus, the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the rest of rat brain (Chowdhuri et al. 2002). The authors investigated the anti-stress effect of the bacosides of Bacopa monnieri a plant known for its beneficial effects on the nervous system (ayurvedic medicine). Mixture of bacosides administered alone (p.o.) caused a significant increase in the activity of CYP1A1 and CYP2B1/2, but 7-d pretreatment with bacosides before stress exposure prevented the increases in the activities of two tested brain CYP isoforms in all brain structures studied. These two CYP subfamilies take part in the metabolism of neurosteroids (Ryan and Levin 1990; Arlotto et al. 1991; Gokhale et al. 1997; Badawi et al. 2001).