# Bacopa Monnieri reduces neuropathic pain



## frothhelmet (25 Jul 2018)

https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-07...pa-monnieri-in-treating-neuropathic-pain.html


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## rebel (26 Jul 2018)

If you are a Rat; maybe. But probably not. 

Need to wait to elucidate mechanism of action, dose response, isolation of the relevant compound and extensive human trials.

That particular website (and the journal that they quote) is a bad source of good quality research. It's a good idea to use a url shotener/do not track type of link to that website if possible.


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## frothhelmet (26 Jul 2018)

I'll be the judge of that.


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## LondonDragon (27 Jul 2018)

Time to start adding some to your salad!!


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## Dortotto (14 May 2021)

Is the medicine helpful or not?


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## John q (14 May 2021)

Possibly, like most natural remedies provided by mother nature they will have some beneficial properties, just what and how well it works is still open to debate I'd guess. 

This link might be of interest:








						Bacopa: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, Dose & Precautions
					

Learn more about Bacopa health benefits, uses, side effects, effectiveness, safety, precautions, and warnings




					www.rxlist.com


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## tiger15 (14 May 2021)

LondonDragon said:


> Time to start adding some to your salad!!


Monnieri is not a good addition to salad because it is practically tasteless.  Caroliniana,  Lemon Bacopa, is a better choice, which should be renamed Lime Bacopa because it smells limes,  more fruity than lemons. The tea it makes tastes like limes. Chew a little. It tastes like lime.  



Dortotto said:


> Is the medicine helpful or not?


Like any herbal medicine, you have to taste it with a grain of faith.  There is no rigorous research to verify its medicinal benefits. identify the right dosage, and side effects.


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## John q (14 May 2021)

Just thought I'd add there's lots of references online suggesting Monnieri does have anti inflammatory properties, but can't find any studies that were done on humans, only in-vitro or on mice/rats. 

There is one paper that involved human subjects, however that was looking into its effectiveness for slowing cognitive decline in the elderly.






						Effects of 12-Week Bacopa monnieri Consumption on Attention, Cognitive Processing, Working Memory, and Functions of Both Cholinergic and Monoaminergic Systems in Healthy Elderly Volunteers
					

At present, the scientific evidence concerning the effect of <i>Bacopa monnieri</i> on brain activity together with working memory is less available. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effect of <i>B. monnieri</i> on attention, cognitive processing, working memory, and cholinergic and...




					www.hindawi.com


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## jamila169 (14 May 2021)

John q said:


> There is one paper that involved human subjects, however that was looking into its effectiveness for slowing cognitive decline in the elderly


The parameters they measured have wide person to person variability- MAO's been studied for 75 years and they still don't know how variances in uptake really affect people, excess might theoretically make you more likely to be depressed, on the other hand a deficiency has been correlated with suicidal intent (and vice versa), with the upshot that all the real scientists have long shelved the theory that MAOs have a specific and measurable psychoactive effect. Acetylcholinesterase lowers acetylcholine, damping down nerve cell communication everywhere, not just in the brain, but in the muscles (you really want your muscle cells to stop twitching when you stop moving)  both of these things have nothing to do with memory , and the sort of response testing they did (see a thing, hit a button) is affected by tiredness, any form of distraction and is also subject to an anticipatory effect, where people hit the button before they see anything. A lot of pseudoscientific papers do this -pick some big words that on a quick google might look plausible and 'scientific' but when you drill down into it it's meaningless -specific to this one is that they picked on enzymes that have globally useful effects and jumped on a tiny lowering as a good outcome for their study whose whole purpose was to give legitimacy to ayurvedic treatments.
Sorry for the wordy reply


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## John q (15 May 2021)

jamila169 said:


> Sorry for the wordy reply


On the contrary, thank you for the incredibly informative reply.

I agree studies on there own are effectively meaningless, contain flaws and can be tilted toward the desired objectives of the study, but that doesn't mean the information is incorrect, it just requires further research before we come to any concrete conclusions.

I've honestly no idea if Bacopa has any benefits related to the op's question, and I'm certainly not trying to persuade anyone that it does.
I do however think our understanding of psychoactive substances, especially in relation to plants, is extremely limited and requires much more research, and sometimes maybe a slightly opend mind.


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## Carolyntgi (16 May 2021)

I've been suffering from chronic neuropathic pain for a LONG time, and believe me, that stuff doesn't work. The episodes stopped for a short while, and, as they usually do, they came back - even more uncomfortable than before. I won't even talk about the diarrhea and nausea I had because of Bacopa. My doctor said that it may have just been a wrong fit for me, so be careful what you choose as your medication. On another note, he recommended that I try some painful neuropathy natural remedy, which I believe to be good pain relief. The episodes don't happen as much now, and I'm feeling a lot better.


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## jamila169 (16 May 2021)

problem with neuropathic pain is that it comes and goes with no rhyme or reason (gentle virtual fistbump @Carolyntgi , we don't want to set each other off) I'd love something non narcotic that works long term with no unpleasant side effects, but there's always a downside. I basically get up , do a once over 'what hurts today, is it worse than usual, is it new' then medicate or not accordingly, I try to move about semi vigorously as much as I can (EDS + not moving enough= muscle wastage, subluxations and more nerve damage) and eat properly -don't know about you , but if I'm in pain I either eat next to nothing, or hit the chocolate and crisps, which doesn't help in the long run (well, I have POTS, so plain crisps are mostly forgivable). Chronic nonsense is hard work


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## John q (16 May 2021)

Carolyntgi said:


> I've been suffering from chronic neuropathic pain for a LONG time


You have my sympathy. 

The wife has Cauda equina syndrome which in the main is controlled by duloxetine, pregabalin and tramadol, when she gets a flare up nothing comes close to reducing the nerve pain, the pain clinic have tried buprenorphine, morphine and oxycodone, but non of them seem to alleviate the symptoms. 

Her only option now is to have a 4th operation on her spine, but given the last one left her in a wheelchair for 6 months, she's rather reluctant. 

For the record I wouldn't even suggest she tried bacopa, I expect if I told her to make some tea out of one of my aquarium plants she'd more than likely punch me.


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## jamila169 (16 May 2021)

The thing a lot of folks don't know about opiates is that most people don't get full pain relief from them, and some people (about 20%) get absolutely none - I get some relief from Tramadol, but only if I layer it with ibuprofen and paracetamol, and it does work on my fatigue ( I understand a lot of people are sedated by tramadol, not me, I'm the opposite, which is annoying when pain stops sleep, because then I have to choose insomnia ) .I've swerved gabapentin(pregabalin) - I've seen what it did to my mum and I'm already dizzy, forgetful and nauseous enough from the POTS and Fibro TVM, taking it for epilepsy turned my daughter into amnesiac rip van winkle, so I'm not going to poke that particular bear - SNRIs and SRIs raise my intraocular pressure which isn't good when you've got a parent with glaucoma, and also they don't play nice with POTs (taking something that can make your blood pressure drop when you stand up isn't a good move when you've got low blood pressure and postural tachycardia). I wish there were better options than messing with your brain chemistry for NP and fatigue disorders, because it's exhausting careering from one flare up to the next


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