 Botany
Ulasimang-aso is a creeping, smooth, somewhat fleshy plant, with branches 5 to 20 cm long. Leaves are stalkless, entire, oblong-ovate to spatulate, 8 to 15 mm long, up to 4 mm wide, widest near the blunt tip, and tapering toward the base. Flowers are borne singly in the axils of the leaves, on stalks which are usually as long as the leaves or longer. Calyx is about 5 mm long, the outer sepal being oval and the others ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate. Corolla is 8 to 10 mm long; the tube, which is nearly as long as the calyx or quite as long, has white or pale violet lobes. Capsules are ovoid and shorter than the calyx. Seeds are numerous and pale.
 Distribution
In open wet places at low altitudes, especially within the influence of salt and brackish water.
In Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Rizal and Laguna Provinces in Luzon.
Pantropic.
Constituents
- Plant yields the presence of a trace of oil matter, two resins, organic acid, tannin and an alkaloid principle.
- Indian study yielded alkaloids, Brahmine and hespestine, saponins d-mannitol and hersaponin, monnierin.
- Yields betulic acid, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, bacosides and bacosaponins.
Properties
Considered aperient, adaptogenic, anti-anxiety, anti-ulcer, anti-asthmatic, anti-depresssant, antispasmodic, antioxidant, diuretic, immuno-modulating, memory enhancing, neurotonic.
Parts used
Entire plant.
Uses
Folkloric
In the Philippines, decoction of entire plant utilized as diuretic.
Hindu physicians use it as nervine tonic; used for insanity, epilepsy and hoarseness.
Teaspoon of leaf juice used for vomiting and purging.
In India, used as diuretic, aperient, and nervine tonic.
Used to enhance memory, learning and concentration.
In India and Pakistan, used as cardiac tonic, digestive aid, and to relieve bronchoconstriction.
In Ayurveda, used for anxiety, depression, psychosis and epilepsy.
Studies
• Cognitive Enhancing Effects: (1) Study results suggest only chronic administration of extract is associated with cognitive-enhancing effects. (2) Study showed evidence B. monnieri has potential for safely enhancing cognitive performance in the aging.
• Antianxiety: Study on rat model with extract with 25% bacoside A showed an anxiolytic effect comparable to benzodiazepene anxiolytic drug, lorazepam.
• Epilepsy: Study in mice showed hersaponin provided protection against seizures. Study in mice usiing high doses of Bacopa extract demonstrated anticonvulsant effect, an effect not observed with lower doses.
• Asthma: Study showed Bacopa extract to have a relaxant effect on chemically-induced bronchoconstriction.
• Spasmolytic: In vitro studies demonstrated direct spasmolytic activity on intestinal smooth muscle through inhibition of calcium influx across cell membrane channels.
• Gastroprotective: Animal and in vitro studies suggest a protective and curative effect on gastric ulcers.
• Memory: A double-blind randomized, placebo-control study on 76 adults aged 40 to 65 showed a signifcant effect of Brahmi on a test for retention of new information, with decrease in rate of forgetting of newly acquired information.
• Antioxidant: Study of B. monniera extract on rat brain showed dose-related increases in SOD, CAT and GPX activities, suggesting a significant antioxidant effect after subchronic administration. The increase in oxidative free radical scavenging activity by BM may explain, in part, the cognitive-facilitating action noted in Ayurveda practice.
• Antifertility: Study in mice showed antiferlity effects with reversible suppression of spermatogensis and fertility without any apparent toxic effects.
• ADHD / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized trial of 36 children with ADHD showed a significant benefit at 12 weeks, with improvement in sentence repetition, logical memory and paired associate learning tasks.
• Antistress: (1) A study in adult male Sprague Dawley rats on the antistress effect of bacosides of Brahmi showed B, monnieri has the potential to modulate the activities of Hsp70, P450 and SOD, to prepare the brain to act under adverse conditions such as stress. (2) Study showed the standardized extract of B. monniera possesses a potent adaptogenic effect.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study showed Bacopa monniera possesses anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of COX and LOX and down-regulation of TNF-alpha.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Capsules, teas and extracts in the cybermarket.
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