Abstract

The crude drug Brahmi (Sanskrit) is the dried stem and leaves of the plant Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell (Scrophulariaceae) . From ancient times the drug value of this wetland herb was known to Indians and it was used in Ayurvedic and Unani systems of Indian medicine. The drug properties of Brahmi is mainly due to the presence of an alkaloid 'Brahmine' in the plant body. It was Bose and Bose (1931) who first isolated this alkaloid from dried samples of Bacopa monnieri plants. Today 'Brahmine' is well-known as a better substitute for Strychnine or Nux-vomic the cardiac stimulant. The paper elucidates the botany, pharmacognosy, chemistry and uses of the drug Brahmi whose economic potential is yet to the exploited to the maximum extent