Could a 53p-a-day pill help improve your memory?
A new plant-based tablet that delivers dramatic improvements in memory, concentration and learning retention but costs a fraction of the price of a cup of coffee, is going on sale in the UK this month. JANE SYMONS finds out more
ASK anyone racing to meet a deadline or cramming for an exam if they would take a pill that would help them retain information and boost concentration and they would undoubtedly say “yes”.
Clinical trials have confirmed that a new plant-based pill can improve memory, protect brain cells from DNA damage and reverse amnesia caused by both antidepressants and anti-epilepsy medicines. Now scientists say it could have potential as a treatment for dementia.
The new brain-boosting remedy is derived from the bacopa monnieri plant, which has a long history of use in Indian medicine and is backed by 40 years of clinical research.
One study showed an extract of the plant, which commonly grows in marshy areas in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and Pakistan, improved working memory fivefold. The EU is considering approving it as a therapy for age-related memory decline.
Now Potter’s Herbals, a British company which produces clinically-proven plant and herbal remedies, is launching Memory & Focus – the first bacopa monnieri product to be sold in the UK which uses the unique CDRI-08 extract tested in dozens of clinical trials. The recommended daily dose will cost just 53p.
Biochemist and medical herbalist Dr Chris Etheridge says: “Although some bacopa monnieri products are already being sold in the UK this is the only one which uses the specific, pharmaceutical-grade extract that has been proven effective in clinical trials.”
One placebo-controlled study found that volunteers who took a 300mg dose for 12 weeks showed significant improvements in visual information processing, learning rate, memory consolidation and information retention.
Volunteers who received the CDRI-08 extract showed a 500 per cent improvement in working memory. They reported much less anxiety and had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Dr Etheridge says: “Working memory is the mental workspace we have to process, store and recall information, which makes it incredibly important in terms of our ability to learn and retain knowledge.
“An improvement on this scale is phenomenal and when it is coupled with measurable anti-anxiety effects it underlines how useful the CDRI-08 extract could be for students, or anyone who has to absorb and process a large volume of new information in stressful conditions.”
Another trial revealed that when volunteers were given 20 minutes to finish a series of demanding mental tests, those who took CDRI-08 performed dramatically better than a group given a dummy pill.
SCIENTISTS believe bacopa monnieri works in a number of ways, including improving neural connections in parts of the brain linked to memory, increasing levels of messenger hormones dopamine and serotonin and improving blood flow and antioxidants in the brain.
It also suppresses an enzyme which breaks down the chemical messenger acetylcholine, which is how anti-dementia medicines such as Aricept work. There are
850,000 dementia sufferers in the UK and experts estimate the number affected will top a million by 2025.
Studies show CDRI-08 begins working almost immediately but it takes about 12 weeks for the full effect to become obvious. It is well tolerated and there are no reports of dependence or withdrawal symptoms.
Dr Etheridge says: “Although there is now a huge body of evidence confirming the brain-boosting benefits of bacopa monnieri, we are really only scratching the surface.
“Given what we already know I think the CDRI-08 extract has real potential as a therapy, not only for boosting concentration and memory levels but also for addressing cognitive health challenges and even possibly dementia.
“We also have a huge problem with so-called ‘smart drugs’. One in five university students admits to using pills to try to improve their academic performance.
“Some are using prescription medicines designed to treat ADHD or narcolepsy but many are putting themselves at risk buying drugs on the dark web.”