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NOOTROPICS GUIDE | Polygala tenuifolia

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NOOTROPICS GUIDE | Polygala tenuifolia

Polygala tenuifolia is a herb in the family Polygalaceae usually abbreviated P. tenuifolia and also known as Yuan zhi in traditional Chinese medicine. It contains tenuifolin, senegenin and polygalacic acid. It is one of the fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine and acts as an expectorant and improves memory.

It has not been proved that P. tenuifolia can improve memory spatial awareness and organization in humans but has been shown to have protective effects on the brain. Research has shown antidepressant effects in rats that improves cognition but more research is needed to confirm this effect in humans. In healthy people, limited effects are seen while a slight increase in cognitive ability when supplementing Polygala tenuifolia in elderly people.  As measured by free or cued recall, it does not improve short or long term memory formation.

P.tenuifolia is similar in mechanism and effectiveness to ketamine which interacts with N-methyl-D-aspartic acid and it’s receptors according to research. Rodent research studies that are assessing P.tenuifolia’s anti-amnesiac and adaptogen-like properties suggest that the herb can increase the level of compounds responsible for brain growth, like nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic (BDNF). No significant improvements in verbal fluency noted in elderly adults with memory complaints supplementing this herb.

The recommended dosage is 100mg of an ethanolic extract called BT-11, three times a day, for a total daily dose of 300mg. A traditional Chinese medicine remedy suggests taking 3-9g (dry weight) of P. tenuifolia root through a water decoction like tea or soup to reduce forgetfulness. This root has a low bio-availability, which means that proportionately a small amount of the introduced substance is absorbed into the organism. The half-life of Polygala tenuifola largely depends on the organism and the dose taken. Some users said that stacking polygala with cordyceps and can be the base of your nootropic veneer when stacking.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that originates from central nervous system lesions or recessions that affects over 35 million people worldwide. P. tenuifolia has active multiplex neuroprotective potential associated with AD such as anti- Aβ aggregation, anti-Tau protein, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, anti-neuronal apoptosis, enhancing central cholinergic system and promote neuronal proliferation. These combinations of effects make it a potential drug against AD especially in terms of prevention.

Both ethanol extract and n-butanol fraction of P. tenuifolia root can reduce brain damage during ischemia and reperfusion, and prevent lipid peroxidation and preserve the energy metabolism. In a certain study, the effects of Polygala tenuifolia root extract on brain ischemia/reperfusion injury in Mongolian gerbils were investigated. The gerbils were administered ethanol extract of P. tenuifolia and its four sub-fractions orally 2 hours prior to ischemia, and were subjected to a 20-minute no-flow cerebral ischemia in vivo. Thirty minutes and 72 hours after reperfusion, the brain was removed and the ATP, lactate and lipid peroxide levels were determined, and the neurons in the hippocampal CA1 subfield were examined. In the vehicle-treated ischemic gerbils, the brain ATP levels decreased significantly, but this decrease was prevented by pre-treatment with an n-butanol fraction of P. tenuifolia. In contrast, both the lactate content and lipid peroxidation levels were elevated in the vehicle-treated ischemic animals, but this elevation was inhibited by ethanol extract and n-butanol fraction of P. tenuifolia, respectively.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygala_tenuifolia

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygala_tenuifolia

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