2. WHAT ARE PHYTOMEDICINES ?
• Phytomedicine, also called Botanical/Plant Medicine, differs from Chinese
Herbalism. Phytotherapists use medicinal plants, which grow mainly in the
western hemisphere, and do not combine their therapy with acupuncture.
The word ‘phyto’ derives from the Greek work plant; hence it means plant
based medicine. Phytomedicine is rooted in scientific research and therefore
not to be confused with homeopathy
• It takes its name from the word used in other parts of Europe, where plant
based medicines continue to be provided by doctors and pharmacists as
‘phytomedicines’.
• The methods used to evaluate plant based medicines are similar to those
used by orthodox medicine. Yet, a herb contains many active chemicals,
unlike conventional drugs, which focus on specific chemicals. Hence
botanical or herbal medicines may combine several actions to support the
body’s health.
3. HOW DOES PHYTOMEDICINE WORK?
• In Phytomedicine, plant medicines are selected to stimulate or strengthen
the body’s own functions and immune system, hence support the body to
restore itself to health. The phytotherapist approaches each patient as a
unique individual in making a diagnosis and assessing his or her needs. Any
herbal medicine prescribed may be a combination of plants chosen for the
therapeutic actions required to treat that individual.
• This gives phytomedicine an edge over antibiotics, as bacteria cannot
develop resistance against these drugs because they strengthen the
immune system instead of destroying the pathogens.
4. EXAMPLES OF PHYTOMEDICINE
A few very well known examples are:
• Anis seed, shikimic acid (Tamiflu, Gilead/Roche)
• Taxus brevifolia is the active constituent of the anti-cancer drug Taxol (1971)
• Benzylpenicillin (1928, London, UK)
• Morphine from opium poppy (1923, Germany)
• Qininine from cinchona bark (1820, France)
• Salicin from willow bark, known as Aspirin (1838, France)
• Atropine from belladonna (1833)
• Caffeine from the coffee shrub (1821)
• Coniine from hemlock (1826)
• Emetine from ipecacuanha (1817)
• Strychnine from Strychhnos (1817)
5. HOW PLANT TO MEDICINE
• These crude plant material is extracted by the phytotherapist for their active
constituents (phytochemicals) with various methods and these are based on
European and national legislation. Phytotherapists mainly use alcohol to
extract the plant’s active constituents from dry or fresh plant parts. Alcoholic
extracts are prepared by maceration and/or percolation. Plant barks and
root constituents are more successfully extracted with differing gradients of
alcohol, depending on the particular plant. Decoction or infusions are often
too weak to extract the active constituents of harder plant materials, and
are used preferably in aerial plant parts only. Hence most phytomedicines
are prescribed as alcoholic tinctures, which are usually taken twice a day. A
typical phytomedical daily dose is 15ml of alcohol, a minute but very
effective amount.
6. BACOPA MONNIERA
• Bacopa monniera, a member of the
Scrophulariaceae family, is a small,
creeping herb with numerous branches,
small oblong leaves, and light purple
flowers. In India and the tropics it grows
naturally in wet soil, shallow water, and
marshes. The herb can be found at
elevations from sea level to altitudes of
4,400 feet, and is easily cultivated if
adequate water is available. Flowers and
fruit appear in summer and the entire
plant is used medicinally.
7. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION
BESEB
Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, a
constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial
Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India has developed a
unique single plant based natural memory enhancer
formulation - BESEB (“Bacosides Enriched Standardized
Extract of Bacopa”) from the herb Bacopa monniera. The
process for making enrichment of the active constituents
(Bacosides A & B) in BESEB has been patented by CDRI
(CSIR). The plant is commonly known as Brahmi which has
been used in the Indian System of Ayurvedic Medicine as
a traditional herb for over 3000 years to enhance memory
and learning.
8. HOW AND WHY DOES THE CDRI BRAHMI EXTRACT
BESEB DIFFER FROM OTHER BRAHMI EXTRACTS?
• Each capsule of BESEB contains a standardized and an optimum quantity of
the enriched Bacosides A and B extracted from the plant Bacopa monniera
as per CDRI(CSIR) quality control parameters. These bacosides are extracted
based on a unique process know-how, developed and patented by the
CDRI(CSIR)
9. HOW DOES BESEB WORK AND WHAT
ARE ITS BENEFITS?
• Compounds responsible for the pharmacological effects of Bacopa include
alkaloids, saponins, and sterols. Many active constituents – the alkaloids
Brahmine and herpestine, saponins d-mannitol and hersaponin, acid A, and
monnierin – were isolated in India over 40 years ago. Other active
constituents have since been identified, including betulic acid, stigmastarol,
beta-sitosterol, as well as numerous bacosides and bacopasaponins. The
constituents responsible for Bacopa’s cognitive effects are bacosides A and
B.5-9
10. • Dr. Robert Furchgott, a Nobel Laureate (1998) discovered that when BESEB is taken, it
releases a small amount of nitric oxide which helps to reduce anxiety allowing focus
and concentration and improves blood circulation in brain.
• Facilitates learning, improves consolidation of learned behavior
• Induces an increase in protein kinase activity, serotonin and lowers the epinephrine
levels in the brain areas that contribute to facilitatory effect of BESEB on long-term
and intermediate forms of memory.
• Enhances the cholinergic neurotransmitter system in brain.
• Reduces anxiety in adults and children that enhances focus and concentration in
logical memory, digit forward and paired associated learning.
• Possesses adaptogenic effect to combat day-to-day stress and improves mental
alertness and sharpens short-term and long-term memory.
• Has potent antioxidant activity.
11. WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM BESEB
• For Age Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI) in elderly person
• For Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children
• For those who want improve memory, relieve stress, anxiety
12. RECOMMENDED DOSAGE
• Each capsule contains BESEB – 150 mg and with dicalcium phosphate
(excipient) -250 mg
• For adults one capsule twice daily after food
• For children (7 to 12 years old) one capsule once a day after breakfast.
• It is advisable to continue taking BESEB for at least 3 months for a significant
effect, thereafter maintaining one capsule daily as long as the person wishes
to.
13. SIDE EFFECTS AND TOXICITY
• Therapeutic doses of Bacopa are not associated with any known side
effects, and Bacopa has been used safely in Ayurvedic medicine for several
hundred years. A double-blind, placebocontrolled clinical trial of healthy
male volunteers investigated the safety of pharmacological doses of
isolated bacosides over a four-week period. Concentrated bacosides given
in single (20-30 mg) and multiple (100-200 mg) daily doses were well
tolerated and without adverse effects. The LD50 of Bacopa extracts
administered orally to rats was
5 g/kg for aqueous extracts and 17 g/kg of the alcohol extract. Neither
extract resulted in gross behavioral changes at these concentrations.
14. REFERENCES
• Mukherjee DG, Dey CD. Clinical trial on Brahmi.I. J Exper Med Sci 1966;10:5-11.
• Singh HK, Dhawan BN. Neuropsychopharmacological effects of the Ayurvedic nootropic Bacopa
monniera Linn. (Brahmi). Indian J Pharmacol 1997;29(5):S359-65.
• Channa S, Dar A, Yaqoob M, Anjum S, Sultani Z, Atta-ur-Rahman. Broncho-vasodilatory activity of
fractions and pure constituents isolated from Bacopa monniera. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 May;
86(1): 27-35.
• Goel RK, Sairam K, Babu MD, Tavares IA, Raman A. In vitro evaluation of Bacopa monniera on anti-
Helicobacter pylori activity and accumulation of prostaglandins. Phytomedicine. 2003; 10(6-7): 523-
7.
• Sairam K, Rao CV, Babu MD, Goel RK. Prophylactic and curative effects of Bacopa monniera in
gastric ulcer models. Phytomedicine. 2001 Nov; 8(6): 423-30.
• Negi KS, Singh YD, Kushwaha KP, Rastogi CK, Rathi AK, Srivastava JS, Asthana OP, Gupta RC,
Lucknow G. "Clinical evaluation of memory enhancing properties of Memory Plus in children with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 2000 Apr; 42(2) Supplement
• Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, Downey LA, Hutchison CW, Rodgers T, Nathan PJ. The chronic effects of
an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2001 Aug;156(4):481-4
