39 replies to this topic

[aLurker]

I've asked Planetary Herbals about this this earlier since I've got lots of their product and I'm pretty paranoid. Their (I suppose standard) reply is below. Sounds great if you take their word for it. I would have liked to see their certificates though. I might send an email to iherb too and ask about it since they say below that "Copies of Certificate of Analysis for any finished Planetary Herbals product are only available to any of our retail stores that sells our products. Please seek your nearest retailer for more information."

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Hello aLurker,



And thank you for contacting Planetary Herbals.



Metals are a natural part of all biological herbs-Western, Ayurvedic, or Chinese-because the soil contains minerals and metals. The key is to ensure that botanicals are grown in areas as free of contamination as possible and that no metals are added in processing, which is a firm commitment that our company stands behind on. When an herb is received at Planetary Herbals, our trained herbal quality control personnel review it. The herb is subjected to a variety of analytical methods that may include organoleptic analysis, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), state of the art heavy metal testing (ICP-MS), and ultraviolet and infrared spectrophotometry (UV-IR). Please be aware our Quality Control Department employs rigorous inspection and testing procedures to ensure all products are manufactured to provide 100% of labeled ingredient potencies. We accomplish this by making sure all raw materials and manufactured products comply with certificates of analysis provided by the vendors. These materials are inspected according to a long list of specifications including, potency of active constituents, appearance, color, odor, flavor, and the absence of impurities such as heavy metals. Every botanical raw material is subjected to screening for heavy metals. We adhere to among the strictest standards for heavy metals that are agreed among all fifty states in the U.S.A.



Planetary Herbals products are manufactured in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) as regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration under 21 CFR Part 111.



Copies of Certificate of Analysis for any finished Planetary Herbals product are only available to any of our retail stores that sells our products. Please seek your nearest retailer for more information.



And please remember, all of our products are 100% guaranteed. If you are not satisfied with one of our products for any reason, you may return the unused portion with your receipt to the health food store where it was purchased for a refund, exchange, or credit.







Brian Joaquin

Technical Researcher

Customer Service Department

Threshold Enterprises, Ltd.

Planetary Herbals



The information herein has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. The information provided herein does not constitute a medical opinion. If you believe that you have a medical condition, please seek the advice of a licensed health care professional.

Edited by aLurker, 08 December 2010 - 02:28 PM.

[BlueCloud]

You've tried more brands than most people. How are they in comparison to each other?

Edit: I mean in general: both effects and side effects.

I only took them for short periods of time , one to two weeks each. I stopped because i had other more pressings issues i needed to stabilize first ( allergies and asthma ) , and i almost never introduce more than one supplement at a time, to be sure of the effects and possible interactions.

- Solaray : Didn't feel anything really , and then lost the bottle on the third day ...

- Supersmart : This is probably the one i liked the most. I take 400mg at once in the evening on an empty stomach ( as i do with most supps ) . The first 2 days i felt quite relaxed approximately 2 hours after dosing. Later in the evening i got a couple of long forgotten memories that just flashed out of nowhere ( not unlike what i get on piracetam ). It helped nicely for my insomnia , and my dreams were quite vivid. The morning after , i still felt some of the relaxing effect , and my cognition was a bit better than usual ( probably because of the lifted anxiety ). After 3 days , the relaxing effect diminished , and didn't get any of those sudden flashing memories. I didn't feel anything particular in the following two weeks, no special effect on memory or cognition. I had the same pattern when i started it again after a month without it.
So it seems i get an acute effect the first two days or so , wich quickly subside after that , probably the more chronic cognitive effect would have appeared after a month or so.

- AOR : I take one 300mg in the evening. It was very similar to the Supersmart brand overall , perhaps a little less intense, in the acute effects on the first days . It's dosed and standardized differently however.
Both the Supersmart and AOR nicely regulated my GI tract, without the horrible effects i get from the Planetary.

I will do a much longer trial of bacopa in a few weeks ( probably with the supersmart brand )

[tham]

Try Himalaya's Mentat formula. The herbs
in it are documented cognitive enhancers,
based around bacopa, centella, withania
and evolvulus (morning glory).

Referred to as BR-16A in the studies.

I have yet to let my father in the
nursing home try it out, as I can't get
it past the "Gestapo officer" caretaking
him, my elder brother, who has never
heard of, nor endorses life extension.


http://www.imminst.o...post__p__406753

[Yearningforyears]

It´s a common side effect of bacopa. There are some studies on pubmed where this is reported. As far as GID goes I moved from A to D in no time and had a very memorable bowel movement on my way from work one day. It was not my finest hour but... the world didn´t end!

[Michael Campbell]

Hate to revive an old thread, but I'm experiencing this right now, and actually FOUND the thread searching for if this was happening to anyone else. Like many here, I'm taking the PH bacopa, but the tablets stink to me (like St Johns Wort - I have to take it in capsule form or the smell alone almost makes me vomit), and the GI issues have been "voluminous". I suspected bacopa because of timing of the issues and when I started using it. Will quit for a few days and see what happens. Glad, in a "misery loves company" way, to see I'm not the only one.

[snuffie]

I've been taking AOR brand bacopa, 300mg before bed most nights for 2 or 3 weeks. Absolutely zero explosive shits, and I have a really touchy digestive system (too much coffee: shits; nervous before exam: shits; PMS: shits; etc.) So I am glad about that.

I was worried about the next-day fatigue that a lot of people experience, but so far this stuff doesn't seem to sedate me at all. Which is great in terms of not being foggy the next morning, but I was hoping for a bit of a sleep aid.

Not sure how I'll be able to tell if it's actually doing anything beneficial for my memory or anxiety or anything else.

[Michael Campbell]

Snuffie, for what it's worth the bacopa that (I think, jury's still out) was giving me GI problems did not make me drowsy.

[renfr]

Yeah, PH Bacopa radically sucks, try Swanson or Himalaya (1$ the bottle) I never had diarrhea with them.

[magniloquentc0unt]

sorry for reviving a 2 years old thread but i tought it would make sense to stack information in here instead of creating a new, double thread.
Ive been experimenting with bacopa for the past 2 years and while i've found different brands to have different potency, i was never struck by any serious intestinal problem: i do have a not formally diagnosed Irritable bowel problem. It usually happens a couple of times a months and sometimes it gets so bad that i get cold sweats and feel like fainting (this happens 4-5 times a year). Anyway, as i said, i have tried different brands and some times i did get a bit of stomach discomfort, but what ive been experiencing the past week with the INDIAN version of Himalayas capsules is different. Daily mild pains that wont go away and are impossible to forget or to take your mind away from.

What i found interesting is that the USA version of the capsules gave me absolutely NO discomfort.
I am not sure what the difference is:
the USA version contains 250mg bacopa extract (24% Bacopa saponins) + 500mg bacopa powder (whole leaf, 24% Bacopa saponins)
the INDIAN is said to contain simple "250mg bacopa extract", with no further addition.

so paradoxically to what someone stated earlier in the thread, it seems that the bacopa aerial parts arent responsible for the discomfort...
other brands that i had tried were pureencapsulations (pretty impressive but pricey) and planetaryherbals (OK and cheap), both of them dosed much more than suggested on the box.

Edited by magniloquentc0unt, 21 January 2014 - 11:37 AM.

[Senthuran Thevaseelan]

overdosed on bacopa (15 300 mg pills) 50 percent a and b baccoids and discovered you can pee from your ass