Bacopa → Cognitive performance
Higher Bacopa moves Cognitive performance only in some conditions. Read the mechanism.
Calabrese 2009 found that 300 mg of standardized Bacopa monnieri a day for twelve weeks improved delayed word recall on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test versus placebo in 48 healthy adults aged 65 or older. Lopresti 2025 saw no between-group change on primary learning, attention, or working memory in 87 completers aged 40 to 70.
Randomized trial · Contested · N=48
Supported by an experiment or a tightly identified design. Read the caveats.
Mechanism
Authors treat a bacopa extract as a memory aid. They do not isolate one bacoside. Calabrese, Gregory, Leo and colleagues assigned 54 adults 65 or older without dementia to 300 mg a day or placebo for twelve weeks after a six-week placebo run-in. 48 finished. Delayed recall on the Rey list favored bacopa after a baseline-cognition adjustment. Stroop also moved. Divided attention and a digit task did not. Delfan, Kordestani-Moghaddam, Gholami and colleagues assigned 62 people with mild cognitive impairment to 160 mg a day or starch for two months. Overall Montreal Cognitive Assessment missed at one month and hit at two (P=0.029). Attention and verbal fluency moved. Sleep did not. Lopresti and Smith assigned 101 adults aged 40 to 70 with self-reported memory complaints to 300 mg of Bacumen or placebo for twelve weeks. 87 finished. Verbal learning, attention, and working memory did not differ (P=0.391, 0.713, 0.610). Stress after a demanding task did.
Caveats
Researchers assigned people to an extract or a control, so this is a trial stamp. Task and age split. More papers of the same design do not settle the claim. Calabrese is 48 older adults without dementia. Delfan is mild cognitive impairment and a late overall score. Lopresti is the largest file here and missed its three primary tasks. This is a journal entry, not medical advice and not a reason to take bacopa for memory.
Effect
qualitative. Calabrese 2009: 300 mg, 12 wk, 48/54 elderly, AVLT delayed recall vs placebo. Delfan 2024: N=62 MCI, overall MoCA at 2 mo P=0.029. Lopresti 2025: 87/101, primary learning/attention/WM ns.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Bacopa → Cognitive performance.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-bacopa-cognition (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Effects of a standardized Bacopa monnieri extract on cognitive performance, anxiety, and depression in the elderly: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
C Calabrese, WL Gregory, M Leo, D Kraemer, K Bone, B Oken · 2009 · Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)
- Evaluating the effects of Bacopa monnieri on cognitive performance and sleep quality of patients with mild cognitive impairment: A triple-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
M Delfan, P Kordestani-Moghaddam, M Gholami, K Kazemi, R Mohammadi · 2024 · Explore (New York, N.Y.)
- The Effects of a Bacopa monnieri Extract (Bacumen®) on Cognition, Stress, and Fatigue in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
AL Lopresti, SJ Smith · 2025 · Clinical drug investigation