Bacopa is a nootropic supplement to help with mental clarity, your nervous system, and healthy brain function. It’s sold by Oregon company Herb Pharm, from the unincorporated community Williams. Their Bacopa is grown in India and seems to be harvested by hand to ensure purity. The resulting product from Herb Pharm can be used by many people, even as a general supplement for overall health. Bacopa is known to improve memory performance over time.
1) What is Bacopa?
Usually, people taking Bacopa will try to get 300 mg a day. With this product, that means two to three droppers daily, with meals if you can manage it. The Bacopa monnieri plant is also known as brahmi, thyme leafed gratiola, and Indian pennywort. The nootropic herb grows best in damp conditions. Some people even use it as an aquarium plant. The herb has been used in traditional medicine for epilepsy, asthma, ulcers, tumors, enlarged spleen, inflammations, leprosy, anemia, gastroenteritis, and more. While not all of its alleged effects have been proven through scientific study, bacopa does have potential to help with a lot of problems. Side effects are rare. If they do appear, it tends to be nausea more than anything else. Taking supplements with food can offset the risk of side effects, and it’s recommended that you use this supplement during mealtimes.
2) Details on Bacopa Ingredients and Uses
Bacopa contains the following ingredients: Bacopa herb (647 mg).
3) Does Bacopa Work?
Each serving of this product (0.7 ml) gives you about 140 mg of Bacopa monnieri. If you take just over two servings a day, that gives you the common dose of 300 mg daily. The bacopa monnieri plant has long been used in traditional medicine. Like many ancient herbs and roots, it was used as treatment for an overly wide variety of problems. It does, however, have actual scientific backing for some things. Research shows that it has some effectiveness related to improving memory, attention, anxiety, and mood. Memory and concentration have been studied the most so far. Specific types of bacopa extracts improve memory in older adults and children, and may improve hand eye coordination. There’s also research on epilepsy, asthma, aches and pains, and other conditions, but the research tends to be lacking. More evidence is needed before making a definitive statement on certain benefits of Bacopa monnieri, although it does seem best for improving memory. It works in healthy people and anyone in cognitive decline due to disease or old age. The only issue is that you need to take bacopa supplements for 4 to 6 weeks to really see the memory improvements.
Bacopa works well as a single-ingredient nootropic, but if you prefer a more advanced nootropic formula that uses multiple research-backed ingredients, we recommend reading our Jarrow Neuro Optimizer review.
4) Bacopa Claims
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- Convenient liquid form with an included dropper. Add one dropper to juice or water, at least twice a day, to get a full serving.
- High level of purity. This product allegedly meets Proposition 65 standards in regard to potential heavy metal contamination.
5) What You Need to Know Before Taking Bacopa
- Doesn’t list the bacoside content, so it’s difficult to know how much of this product you need to take. Not all bacopa products are equal in strength.
- More expensive than similar capsule form supplements.
6) How Much Does Bacopa Cost?
For a liquid supplement, the price is reasonable. The company recommends taking 3 to 5 droppers of Bacopa daily. Two to three servings should be enough for almost all people. One 1 oz bottle lasts 2 to 3 weeks in most cases. You can, of course, take this product more (or less) often if you want. Keep in mind this can alter the price by quite a bit in some circumstances. The company offers a 30 day money back guarantee if you order directly from them. It’s not clear if they do international shipping, but it’s easy enough to find Herb Pharm products in the United States.
7) Bacopa Serving Size
Herb Pharm recommends taking Bacopa between meals – if you get an upset stomach, just take Bacopa with meals instead of between them. The herb seems to work in people of all ages, although its effects are usually studied in the elderly. If the bacopa extract is of high quality, you only need 200 to 300 mg in a day. The active compound (bacoside content) needs to be more than 50 percent of the extract. The company doesn’t say whether or not their product meets this threshold.
8) Bottom Line – Does It Really Work?
Most products with Bacopa monnieri are safe and effective. It does depend a lot on the quality of the product, though. You want to look for something which includes 25 percent bacosides or more, if possible. Unfortunately, Herb Pharm doesn’t list their bacoside content. Most people who use this product like it, so it does seem effective. The most common complaint is about the taste. One person said adding it to tea doesn’t help, but juice might. One reviewer said they got a rash, which is highly unusual. Almost everyone who takes this product regularly will see benefits at some point. At most, bacopa needs 4 to 6 weeks for benefits to appear.
