ReviewInteractive journal of medical research2022
Use of Bacopa monnieri in the Treatment of Dementia Due to Alzheimer Disease: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Interactive journal of medical research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exploring Antioxidant Properties of Standardized Extracts from Medicinal Plants Approved by the Thai FDA for Dietary Supplementation.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of natural extracts in cognitive function of healthy adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of a Bacopa monnieri Extract (BacumenClinical drug investigation · 2025Trial
- Bacopa monnieri and Alzheimer's disease: mechanistic convergence, cognitive outcomes and translational perspectives.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Phytochemical and Fungal Bioactive Compounds in the "Brain Health Triad": A Narrative Review on Neurostimulating, Neurotrophic, and Neuroprotective Synergy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Efficacy ofJMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- The Role ofNutrients · 2025Review
- Exploring therapeutic potential of3 Biotech · 2025Article
- Advancements in multi-omics research to address challenges in Alzheimer's disease: a systems biology approach utilizing molecular biomarkers and innovative strategies.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Investigating the Neuroprotective and Cognitive-Enhancing Effects ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Herbal medicines in Alzheimer's disease and the involvement of gut microbiota.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Synergistic neuroprotection by phytocompounds of Bacopa monnieri in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer's disease mice model.Molecular biology reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Importance of high-quality evidence regarding the use of Bacopa monnieri in dementia.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBacopa monnieri, a herb that has been used for many centuries in India, has shown neuroprotective effects in animal and in vitro studies; human studies on patients with Alzheimer disease have been inconclusive.
objectiveThe primary objective of this review was to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of B. monnieri in persons with mild, moderate, or severe dementia, or mild cognitive impairment, due to Alzheimer disease.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, clinical trial registries (World Health Organization, Australia-New Zealand, United States, and South Africa), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL. We intended to include all randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that compared B. monnieri, its extract or active ingredients (at any dosage), with a placebo or a cholinesterase inhibitor among adults with dementia due to Alzheimer disease and in those with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer disease.
resultsOur comprehensive search yielded 5 eligible studies. A total of 3 studies used B. monnieri in combination with herbal extracts while the remaining 2 used B. monnieri extracts only. Two studies compared B. monnieri with donepezil while the others used a placebo as the control. There was considerable variation in the B. monnieri dose used (ranging between 125 mg to 500 mg twice daily) and heterogeneity in treatment duration, follow-up, and outcomes. The major outcomes were Mini-Mental State Examination scores reported in 3 trials, Cognitive subscale scores of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale in 1 study, and a battery of cognitive tests in 2 studies. Using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, overall, we judged all 5 studies to be at high risk of bias. While all studies reported a statistically significant difference between B. monnieri and the comparator in at least one outcome, we rated the overall quality of evidence for the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, Postgraduate Institute Memory Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Wechsler Memory Scale to be very low due to downgrading by 2 levels for high risk of bias and 1 more level for impreciseness due to small sample sizes and wide CIs.
conclusionsThere was no difference between B. monnieri and the placebo or donepezil in the treatment of Alzheimer disease based on very low certainty evidence. No major safety issues were reported in the included trials. Future randomized controlled trials should aim to recruit more participants and report clinically meaningful outcomes.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42020169421; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=169421.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.