Well, dingbat here, was digging through my refrigerator bin with powders and herbs and found my bag of powdered Shankapushpi (or Shankhapushpi). I have a tendency to get interested in something, buy it and USE it...but this is one I remember getting during a really stressful time, I tried it for a bit, and I put it in the fridge for "later". It slid to the bottom of the bin and my mind.
The plus side to coming across it this morning is that I get to be excited about trying it again so it's a two-fer??? Not exactly excited but I'm off doing some re-research to re-learn why I bought it. If I remember correctly it didn't do much for my sleep but it could be that it needs to build.
It sounds really good but I've gotten a bit jaded when it comes to all the things out there that are said to do wonderful things, especially when they have such a long list of benefits. Not doubting they work but none of them are miracle workers and what works for one person may not for another. It could be that this will help me personally in one area but not another. Getting ready to start again and find out!
It has many reported benefits for the brain AND to a lesser degree for sleep, two big areas of interest for me. In reading about it the memory enhancement and cognitive benefits top the list as to reasons people use it. The list of what it purportedly does/helps with includes:
- Memory enhancement (long-term), improved concentration & mental fatigue, & focus
- Alzhiemer's disease & other dementias (here's an interesting bit about two of the different types of Shankhapushpi: https://www.jpionline.org/index.php/ijpi/article/view/827)
- Epilepsy
- Depression
- Ulcers
- Stress & anxiety
- Sleep
- Headache prevention
- Skin health
- Digestion
- Cardio health
- Learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism
- Liver disease
- Nausea & vomiting
- Bronchitis & asthma
- Graying hair, hair loss
- Diabetes
A few tidbits:
- There are four (4) plants known as Shankhapushpi: Convolvulus pluricaulis, Clitoria ternatea, Evolvulus alstinoides (found it called Vishnukarandhi, Vishnukrantha, Vishnu-kranta, Vishukarandi, and Sankaholi), and Codonopsis pilosula. Update: just came across a site that says the four are Convolvulus pluricaulis, Evolvulus alsinoides, Clitoria ternatea, and Canscora decussate with the first being the "true" Dwarf Morning Glory. Yikes, now we're up to five plants and who knows how many names... Sigh. Ya'll are on your own...I'd need a doctorate to figure out which one is true at this point. I have Evolvulus alstinoides...which a number of sites said was "the best". Who knows? They generally all said they did the same thing in reading.
- You can use the oil, capsules, syrup, powder, juice or make a decoction.
- It's a perennial Indian plant (also found in Burma)
- Check with your doctor if you're taking medications to lower your blood pressure or have any other health issues. I didn't see any big warning signs about taking it but it's always advisable to go slow with anything new you're adding.
- At extremely high doses it can slow down your respiratory system so make sure you stick to the recommended doses. I always cycle things like this just to be on the safe side. I also cycle things to make sure my body doesn't adjust to whatever I'm taking --- sometimes your body adjusts and quits making its own cancer fighters, sugar regulators, etc. All we're trying to do with supplementation is enhance, not kill or suppress, what our body can do for us if treated well.
- There is some debate as to whether the shankpushpi from Clitoria ternatea or Convolvulus pluricaulis is the best...seems that the Clitoria ternatea wins out for purists but it seems the Convolvulus is more common. I plan to do a bit more reading on this one...came across it late in my research. Not sure which one I have either so going to grab my bag to see. Update: I have Banyan Botanicals, Evolvulus alstinoides (saw it called Vishnukranthi on one site) also known as Dwarf Morning Glory herb per the label on the bag --- which means yours truly has more research to do! I am going to look it up using the common title, see if I can find out what the difference is between the three I have now come across. Traveling an interesting investigative trail. :-)
- The blooms closely resemble those of the Morning Glory so you'll see that mentioned frequently if you're out reading. It's not morning glory so don't go getting high on those morning glory seeds :-).
- Throughout history it has been a major part of Ayurvedic medicine practice
- It has a bitter taste so you may want to mix it with something sweet if you're not taking capsules
Dosage
The dosage suggestions vary widely and depend sometimes on what you're trying to achieve. I'm going to start with a half teaspoon twice a day, once in the morning and another at night. For brain and memory I saw doses as high as two teaspoons three times a day with the last being taken before bed to enhance sleep (which definitely helps the brain). I plan to start slow. I'm more into prevention of memory issues at this point so doubt I'll go to the higher doses.
More reading if you're interested. Much more depth than I provided above:
Effect of Evolvulus alsinoides Linn. on learning behavior and memory enhancement activity in rodents: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19610035/https://supplementsinreview.com/nootropic/convolvulus-pluricalis-nootropic/
https://learn.1balance.com/post/benefits-of-shankhpushpi/
Comparative nootropic effect of evolvulus alsinoides and convolvulus pluricaulis: https://ijpbs.net/abstract.php?article=NTk2
https://lifeseasons.com/shankhpushpi
https://rootbabes.com/shankhpushpi-benefits/
https://harmonyveda.com/2020/01/09/know-shankhpushpi-benefits/
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