Medicinal plant details
Bacopa monnieri(L.) Pennell
(Brahmi)
| Common name | Brahmi |
| Habit | Herb |
| Habitat | Low lying marshy places and muddy shores |
| Parts used | Whole plant |
Synonyms
| Sr. No. | Synonyms |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ruellia articulata Houtt. |
| 2 | Thunbergia stolonifera Blanco |
| 3 | Lysimachia monnieri L. |
| 4 | Monniera pedunculosa Pers. |
| 5 | Monniera africana Pers. |
| 6 | Monniera brownei Pers. |
| 7 | Septilia repens Raf. |
| 8 | Allocalyx microphylla Cordem. |
| 9 | Anisocalyx limnanthiflorus (L.) Hance |
| 10 | Bacopa monnieri var. cuneifolia (Michx.) Fernald |
| 11 | Bacopa monnieria (L.) Hayata & Matsum. |
| 12 | Bacopa monnieria var. cuneifolia (Michx.) Fernald |
| 13 | Bramia indica Lam. |
| 14 | Bramia monnieri (L.) Drake |
| 15 | Calytriplex obovata Ruiz & Pav. |
| 16 | Capraria monnieria Roxb. |
| 17 | Gratiola monnieri (L.) L. |
| 18 | Gratiola portulacacea Weinm. |
| 19 | Gratiola tetrandra Stokes |
| 20 | Herpestis africana (Pers.) Steud. |
| 21 | Herpestis brownei Steud. |
| 22 | Herpestis calytriplex Steud. |
| 23 | Herpestis monnieri (L.) Rothm. |
| 24 | Herpestis moranensis Kunth |
| 25 | Herpestis pedunculosa Steud. |
| 26 | Herpestis spathulata Blume |
| 27 | Hydrotrida beccabunga Willd. |
| 28 | Monniera cuneifolia Michx. |
| 29 | Herpestis monnieri (L.) Kunth |
| 30 | Herpestis procumbens Spreng. |
| 31 | Bramia monnieri (L.) Pennell |
| 32 | Limosella calycina Forssk. |
| 33 | Septas repens Lour. |
| 34 | Herpestis cuneifolia (Michx.) Pursh |
| 35 | Habershamia cuneifolia (Michx.) Raf. |
| 36 | Herpestis monnieria (L.) Kunth |
| 37 | Moniera monnieri (L.) Britton |
| 38 | Gratiola monnieria L. |
| 39 | Bacopa monnieri var. cuneifolia Michx. |
Taxonomical information
| Kingdom | Viridiplantae |
| Phylum | Streptophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Lamiales |
| Family | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus | Bacopa |
| Species | Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell |
Vernacular names
| Sanskrit | Brahmi, Sarasvati |
| English | Thyme leaved gratiola, Indian pennywort |
| Hindi | Jalbuti, brahmi |
| Kannada | Neeru brahmi, Jala brahmi |
| Marathi | Brahmi, jala brahmi |
| Malayalam | |
| Bengali | Brahmisaka |
| Tamil | Nirabrahmi |
| Telugu | Sambarenu, Sambrani |
| Urdu | Brahmi |
Morphology
Small, semi-succulent, creeping herb with branches ascending of about 20 cm or more long. It spreads on ground. Leaves: 6-25 by 2.5-10 mm, Oblong or Spathulate, Sessile, decussate, rather fleshy, dotted with black specks, very obtuse, nerves obscure. Flowers are Solitary, axillary, bracteoles 5 mm long, linear, pedicles 0.6-3.2 cm long, slender. Calyx is glabrous, divided to base, upper sepals 6 by 3-4mm, ovate, acute; the other 4 sepals slightly shorter than upper; the 2 inner lateral ones 1.5 mm wide, lanceolate, acute. Corolla: Pale blue or white, 8 mm long lobes nearly equal, rounded, strangled when fresh with shining dots. Anthers: Bluish purple Pollen: White Capsule: 5 mm long, ovoid, acute, pointed with the style base, glabrous. Seed: Oblong, striate, pale, 0.85 mm long
Distribution
Throughout India. Globally found in Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Florida, Hawaii and other southern states of USA
Medicinal uses
Fever, Cough, Poison, Blood disorders, Edema, Neurological disorders, Diabetes, Anemia, Leprosy, skin disorders
References
| 1 | Vattakaven, T., George, R. M., Balasubramanian, D., Rejou-Mechain, M., Muthusankar, G., Ramesh, B. R., and Prabhakar, R. (2016). India Biodiversity Portal: An integrated, interactive and participatory biodiversity informatics platform. Biodiversity Data Journal, 4, e10279. |
| 2 | Ashalatha, M., Shenoy, L.N., (2016). A critical review on Brahmi, International Ayurvedic Medical Journal, 4, 141-152 |
| 3 | Joshi, V. K., Joshi, A., and Dhiman, K. S. (2017). The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, development and perspectives. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 197, 32-38. |