Nerve Bitters

Description

A blend of herbs traditionally used to soothe anxiety and restore frayed nerves. A systematic review of studies of passionflower have found it to be “an effective and safe pharmaceutical to reduce stress reactivity, insomnia, anxiety, and depression-like behaviors… with anti-anxiety effect comparable to drugs such as oxazepam or midazolam.” (1) The aerial parts of skullcap have been used in European and North American traditional medicine (2,3) for anticonvulsant, relaxant and nervous system tonic effects (4). In four studies that reported on neurocognitive effects of holy basil, all showed significant improvements in mood and/or cognitive function (4-8). While blue vervain’s traditional anti-anxiety use has been backed up by in vivo studies of rat behavior (9).

1. Passiflora incarnata in Neuropsychiatric Disorders—A Systematic Review
2. Wolfson P, Hoffmann D. An investigation into the efficacy of Scutellaria lateriflora in healthy volunteers. Altern Ther Health Med. 2003;9(2):74.
3. Li J, Wang Y-H, Smillie TJ, et al. Identification of phenolic compounds from Scutellaria lateriflora by liquid chromatogra- phy with ultraviolet photodiode array and electrospray ioniza- tion tandem mass spectrometry. J Pharml Biomed Anal. 2012;63:120–7.
4. Zhang Z, Lian X-y, Li S, et al. Characterization of chemical ingredients and anticonvulsant activity of American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). Phytomedicine. 2009;16(5):485–93.
5. Verma A. K., Dubey G. P., Agrawal A. Biochemical studies on serum Hb, Sugar, Urea and lipid profile under influence of ocimum sanctum L in aged patients. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2012;5(6):791–794.
6. Sampath S., Mahapatra S. C., Padhi M. M., Sharma R., Talwar A. Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum Linn.) leaf extract enhances specific cognitive parameters in healthy adult volunteers: a placebo controlled study. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 2015;59(1):69–77.
7. Saxena R. C., Singh R., Kumar P., et al. Efficacy of an extract of ocimum tenuiflorum (OciBest) in the management of general stress: A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2012;2012:7. doi: 10.1155/2012/894509.894509
8. Bhattacharyya D., Sur T. K., Jana U., Debnath P. K. Controlled programmed trial of Ocimum sanctum leaf on generalized anxiety disorders. Nepal Medical College Journal. 2008;10(3):176–179.
9. Khan AW, Khan AU, Ahmed T. Anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, and sedative activities of Verbena officinalis. Front Pharmacol. 2016;7:499. doi:10.3389/fphar.2016.00499