Posted by Rick on October 22, 2002, at 0:25:51
In reply to Re: Provigil- Adrafinil / Memory Boosters, posted by disney4 on October 21, 2002, at 7:34:20
I'm the one who posted about Bacopa (aka Brahmi).
I had given a domestically-available version a short, insufficient trial, and then actually ordered some of the higher-potency stuff used in the study in New Zealand. (Locating that version it wasn't easy back then!!)
It's still sitting unopened because I've since decided that I'd like more evidence of safety before taking it. Which is *NOT* to say that I suspect it to be unsafe!! In fact, my guess is that it probably is. But there's just no track record in this regard, that I can tell.
A few tidbits: I do know Bacopa/Brahmi is widely used in India. (I saw one Indian article on the net stating that the nation's elderly Premier was being scolded by his doctor for continuing to use Bacopa/Brahmi even though it was supposedly raising his blood pressure.)
One of the key marketing aspects of the higher-potency Australian version (Membac, made by Keenmind) revolves around a famous and well-liked young rugby player named Adam Ritson who suffered severe brain damage and essentially lost all short-term memory. Desperate to find something to help him recover, his mother researched Bacopa, and it gradually helped her son regain his mental faculties. She then lobbied long and hard to have the Australian government declare the product safe, and she started the Keenmind company. The Membac I ordered from Australia has the rugby player's picture on the front of the label. Fyi, while Keenmind and the researchers were very nice about answering my inquiries, I received no replies from the Indian Central Drug Research Center (government-supported, I believe) that patented the higher-potency Bacopa formulation.
Anyway, if you do try it I'd be very interested to hear the results as well.
BTW, the herb Gotu Kola, widely available in the U.S., is also called Brahmi sometimes, which can create a bit of confusion.
Rick
poster:Rick
thread:93083
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124628.html