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Bacopa

Is bacopa the same as brahmi?

Not reliably. “Brahmi” is used for both Bacopa monnieri and gotu kola (Centella asiatica), and market products often do not match their label.

Bacopa monnieri with small oblong leaves creeping over wet ground
Bacopa has small succulent opposite leaves; gotu kola has kidney-shaped leaves on long stalks.

The short answer

In Ayurvedic and commercial usage the name brahmi is applied to Bacopa monnieri and also to Centella asiatica, an unrelated plant in the carrot family. A DNA metabarcoding study of Brahmi products found only a fraction contained the species on the label. The two plants have different chemistry, traditions and safety records, so look for the full scientific name Bacopa monnieri on any product before applying bacopa research to it.

Sources

  1. DNA metabarcoding unveils adulteration in Brahmi herbal products (Shah et al., 2023)Molecular Biology Reports / PubMed
  2. Bacopa monnieri — LiverToxNIDDK