. 2021 Jan 19;13(1):124. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13010124

Table 1.

Characterization of the plants purported as acting as cognition enhancers and main mechanism(s) of action. Bioactive molecules were selected based on reported activity in cognition; other phytochemicals present in the plant were omitted.

Plant	Main Bioactive(S) for Cognition	Effect on Brain/Cognition	References
Acorus calamus ⁺ ^⬪	α-Asarone β-Asarone	Neurotransmission	[55,56,57]
Acorus gramineus	α-Asarone β-Asarone	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[58]
Aframomum melegueta	Gingerol Shogaol Quercetin p-Kaempferol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[59,60]
Alpinia oxyphylla ^■ ^⬪	Protocatechuic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[61]
Anemarrhena asphodeloides ^● ^■ ^⬪	Timosaponin AIII	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[58]
Angelica gigas ^○	Decursin Decursinol angelate	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[58]
Angelica sinensis ^●▲ ^⬪	Z-ligustilide Coniferyl ferulate 11-Angeloylsenkyunolide F Ferulic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[18,62,63]
Asparagus adscendens	Shatavarin IV (Asparinin B) Conypododiol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[64,65]
Asparagus racemosus ⁺	Shatavarin IV (Asparinin B) Sarsasapogenin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[57,66]
Atractylodes japonica ^■	Atractylenolide III	Neuroprotection	[67]
Atractylodes lancea ^● ^■ ^⬪	Atractylenolide III (Codonolactone) Stigmasterolβ-Sitosterol	Neurotransmission	[58]
Avena sativa	Avenanthramides A, B and C	Neuroprotection	[58]
Bacopa monnieri ^∗ ⁺	Bacoside A and B	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[51,68,69,70]
Bauhinia rufescens	d-pinitol (3-O-methyl-d-inositol) p-Coumaric acid Ferulic acid Hyperoside	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[71]
Buxus hyrcana	Buxamine B	Neurotransmission	[22,72]
Buxus papillosa	Buxakashmiramine Cycloprotobuxine-C Cyclovirobuxeine-A Cyclomicrophylline-A N,N-dimethyl buxapapine	Neurotransmission	[22,72]
Camellia sinensis ^● ^∗ ^⬪	Caffein Epigallocatechin-3-gallate Epicatechin gallate Methylliberine	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[55,57,73,74]
Caragana chamiague ⁺	(+)-α-Viniferin	Neurotransmission	[22]
Centella asiatica ^● ^∗▲ ⁺ ^⬪	Asiatic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[55,57,66]
Cinnamomum wilsonii (extract)	Cinnamaldehyde Eugenol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[75,76,77,78]
Citrus aurantium ^● ^■ ⁺ ^⬪	p-Synephrine	Neurotransmission	[79]
Citrus reticulata ^● ^■ ^⬪ ^○	Nobiletin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[58]
Clitoria ternatea ⁺	Kaempferol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[57,66]
Coffee arabica	Caffein Methylliberine Theacrine	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[55,74,80,81]
Coleus forskohlii ⁺	Forskolin (Colforsin)	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[82]
Convolvulus pluricaulis ⁺	Kaempferol Kaempferol-3-glucoside Caffeic acid Convolamine Β-Sitosterol	Neuroprotection	[83]
Coptis chinensis ^● ^■▲ ^⬪	Berberine Coptisine Palmatine	Neurotransmission	[57]
Coptis japonica ^■▲	Berberine	Neuroprotection	[57]
Corydalis speciosa	Palmatine	Neurotransmission	[22]
Crocus sativus ^● ^■▲ ⁺ ^⬪	Quercetin Crocins/picrocrocin Crocetin Safranal	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[55,57,66]
Croton tonkinensis	Ent-kaurane	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[16,84]
Curcuma longa ^● ^∗ ^■▲ ⁺ ^⬪	Curcumin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[55,57]
Cuscuta japonica	Hyperoside Kaempferol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[85]
Cynanchum atratum ^⬪	Cynatroside A Cynatroside B	Neurotransmission	[22]
Cyperus rotundus ^■ ⁺ ^⬪	Quercetin Kaempferol Catechin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[85]
Dioscorea polystachya ^■ ^○	Diosgenin	Neuroprotection	[58]
Dioscorea oppositifolia ^● ^■ ^⬪	Diosgenin	Neuroprotection	[86,87]
Echium amoenum	Cyanidin-3-glucoside	Neuroprotection	[88,89]
Eleutherococcus senticosus^●^∗^■▲ (Siberian ginseng)	Syringin (Eleutheroside B)	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[90,91,92,93]
Eucharis grandiflora	Sanguinine (O-Desmethylgalantamine)	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22]
Foeniculum vulgare ^● ^∗ ^■▲ ⁺ ^⬪	Caffeic acid Chlorogenic acid 1,8-Cineole	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[52,94,95,96]
Galanthus nivalis	Galantamine	Neurotransmission	[22,57]
Galanthus woronowii (or ikariae)	Galantamine Lycorine	Neurotransmission	[20,22,55]
Ginkgo biloba ^● ^∗▲ ^⬪	Ginkgolide A Ginkgolide B Bilobalide Isorhamnetin Protocatechuic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[20,55,57,81,97]
Glycyrrhiza glabra ^● ^∗ ^■▲ ⁺ ^⬪	Glycyrrhizin Glycyrrhetinic acid	Neuroprotection	[57]
Glycyrrhiza uralensis ^● ^■▲ ^⬪	Isoliquiritigenin	Neuroprotection	[58]
Haloxylon recurvum	Haloxysterols A, B, C, D	Neurotransmission	[22]
Huperzia serrata	Huperzine A	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[8,20,55,57]
Hypericum perforatum ^● ^∗▲ ^⬪	Hypericin Hyperforin Biapigenin (I3,II8-biapigenin) Quercetin Chlorogenic acid Rutin Hyperoside Kaempferol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[98,99,100,101,102]
Ilex paraguariensis ^●	Chlorogenic acid Caffein Theobromine Quercetin Kaempferol	Neurotransmission	[22,57]
Lepidium meyenii^○ (Maca Root Extract)	Quercetin β-Carbolines N-Benzylhexadecanamide N-Acetylbenzylamine N-3-Methoxybenzyl-linoleamide	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[57,103,104,105,106,107]
Lespedeza bicolor	Catechin Rutin Daidzein Luteolin Naringenin Genistein	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22]
Lycopodium clavatum	α-Onocerin	Neurotransmission	[22]
Lycoris radiata	Galantamine	Neurotransmission	[22,57]
Mangifera indica ⁺ ^○	Mangiferin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[108]
Matricaria chamomilla ^● ^∗▲	Chlorogenic acid Caffeic acid Catechin Rutin Luteolin Apigenin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22]
Mauritia flexuosa	Rutin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22,109]
Melissa officinalis ^●▲	Luteolin Apigenin Rosmarinic acid Protocatechuic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[20,55,57]
Mentha spicata	Rosmarinic acid Salvianolic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[110,111]
Morinda lucida	Phytol Oleanolic acid Chlorogenic acid p-Coumaric acid Daidzein Rutin Naringin Quercetin Naringenin Genistein	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119]
Moringa peregrina	Rutin Myricetin β-Sitosterol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22]
Mucuna pruriens ⁺ ^○	Gallic acid Genistein Levodopa (l-Dopa) Mucunadine Mucunine Prurienidine Prurienine β-Carbolines (Harmine) β-Sitosterol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[12,17,22,120]
Narcissus assoanus	Assoanine	Neurotransmission	[22]
Narcissus confusus	Galantamine Epinorgalantamine	Neurotransmission	[17,22,57]
Narcissus poeticus	11-Hydroxygalantamine	Neurotransmission	[22]
Paeonia lactiflora ^● ^■▲ ^⬪ ^○	Paeonol	Neurotransmission	[22,58]
Panax ginseng ^● ^∗ ^■▲ ^⬪ ^○	Ginsenosides Rb, Rc, Rd, Rg1	Neuroprotection	[8,55,57,58,81]
Pancratium illyricum	11-α-hydroxy-O-methylleucotamine Galantamine Sanguinine Lycorine	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[8,20,55,57,58,81,121]
Paullinia cupana^●^○ (Guarana)	Caffein	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[81,122,123]
Peganum harmala	β-Carbolines (Harmine, 9-Methyl-9B-Carboline)	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[124,125,126,127]
Peltophorum pterocarpum	Hyperoside Quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucuronide	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[116]
Phyllanthus emblica ⁺ ^⬪ (Emblica officinalis)	Ellagic acid Gallic acid Chebulagic acid Apigenin Quercetin Corilagin Luteolin Phyllanthin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[57,128,129,130]
Piper nigrum ^● ^∗ ⁺ ^⬪	Piperine	Neuroprotection	[131,132]
Platycladus orientalis ^⬪	15-Methoxypinusolidic acid	Neurotransmission	[57,58,133]
Polygala tenuifolia ^● ^■ ^⬪	Tenuifoliside B Tenuifoliside C Tenuifolin Polygalaxanthone III	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[134,135,136,137,138,139,140]
Puerariae lobate ^● ^∗ ^■ ^⬪	Daidzein Puerarin	Neuroprotection	[141]
Rehmannia glutinosa ^■▲ ^⬪ ^○	Catalpol	Neuroprotection	[58,142,143]
Rhizoma acori ⁺ ^⬪	Eugenol β-Asarone	Neuroprotection	[144,145]
Rhodiola rosea ^∗ ^○	Rosavin Rosin Rosarin Salidroside	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[146,147,148]
Ribes nigrum^● (Blackcurrant)	Myricetin Quercetin Isorhamnetin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22,149]
Rosmarinus officinalis ^● ^∗▲	Caffeic acid Chlorogenic acid Oleanolic acid Rosmarinic acid Ursolic acid α-Pinene Eucalyptol (Cineole) Luteolin Protocatechuic acid	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22]
Salvia lavandulaefolia ^●	Eucalyptol α-Pinene	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[20,22,55,57,150]
Salvia miltiorrhiza ^● ^∗ ^■ ^⬪ ^○	Tanshinone I Tanshinone IIA Tanshinone IIB Salvianolic acid	Neurotransmission	[24,151,152]
Sarcococca saligna	Sarsalignenone Vaganine Sarcocine Sarcodine Sarcorine Isosarcodine	Neurotransmission	[22]
Saussurea costus ^● ^■	Apigenin Quercetin	Neurotransmission	[22,58]
Schisandra chinensis ^● ^■▲ ^⬪ ^○	Schisandrin B (Gomisin N)	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[57,58]
Scrophularia buergeriana	E-Harpagoside 8-O-E-p-methoxycinnamoylharpagide Harpagide	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[153,154]
Terminalia chebula ^▲ ⁺ ^⬪ ^○	Ellagic acid Tannic acid Chebulagic acid Corilagin Gallic acid 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22,57,66]
Theobroma cacao ^● ^∗ ^■	Theobromine Caffein Catechin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[155,156,157]
Theobroma grandiflorum	Theacrine	Neuroprotection	[74]
Trifolium pretense^∗▲ (Red clover)	Biochanin A	Neuroprotection	[158]
Trigonella foenum-graecum ^● ^∗▲ ⁺ ^⬪ ^○	Diosgenin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[159]
Vaccinium myrtillus^●^∗▲ (Bilberry)	Cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside	Neuroprotection	[160]
Vaccinium uliginosum L. (Bog bilberry)	Quercetin Rutin (Quercetin-3-rutinoside) Malvidin-3-glucoside Cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside Delphinidin	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22,160]
Vaccinium angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry or Wild blueberry)	Malvidin 3-glucoside Malvidin 3-galactoside Caffeic acid Cyanidin-3-O-β-galactoside Cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside Cyanidin-3-O-β-arabinose Malvidin-3-O-β-arabinose Peonidin-3-O-β-arabinose Delphinidin-3-O-β-galactoside	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[161]
Vinca minor	Vinpocetine	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[20,162]
Vitex agnus-castus^●^∗▲⁺^○ (Chasteberry Extract)	Casticin	Neurotransmission	[163]
Vitis vinifera ^∗ ⁺	Resveratrol Protocatechuic acid	Neuroprotection	[57,164]
Withania somnifera ^∗▲ ⁺	Withaferin A Withanolide A, B Sitoindosides VII-X	Neuroprotection	[57,66,165,166,167,168,169]
Zingiber officinale Roscoe ^●^∗^■▲⁺^⬪	Gingerol Shogaol	Neuroprotection and Neurotransmission	[22,57,170,171,172,173]

Plant listed in Ph.Eur (^●), USP (^∗), JP (^■), WHO monographs (^▲), IP (⁺), PPRC (^⬪), (HMC)-USP (^○). List of plants excluded: Achyranthes aspera; Albizia adianthifolia; Allium sativum; Asparagus cochinchinensis; Astragalus membranaceus; Beta vulgaris; Boerhavia diffusa; Cannabis sativa L; Cassia occidentalis; Celastrus paniculatus; Chlorophytum borivilianum; Commiphora whighttii; Dipsacus asper; Euonymus alatus; Evodia rutaecarpa; Evolvulus alsinoides; Gastrodia elata; Indigo naturalis; Juncus effusus; Lavandula angustifolia; Lawsonia inermis; Ligusticum officinale; Ligusticum wallichii; Liriope muscari; Lycium barbarum; Lycopersicon esculentum; Magnolia officinalis; Nardostachys jatamansi; Nicotiana tobaccum; Paeonia suffruticosa; Petiveria aliácea; Physostigma venenosum; Piper betel; Piper methysticum; Pueraria tuberosa; Punica granatum; Pycnanthus angolensis; Rheum spp.; Ricinus communis; Terminalia arjuna; Terminalia bellirica; Tinospora cordifolia; Tripterygium wilfordii; Uncaria tomentosa; Vaccinium alaskaense How; Vaccinium cespitosum Michx.; Vaccinium membranaceum L.; Vaccinium ovalifolium Sm; Valeriana officinalis; Xanthoceras sorbifolia; Zanthoxylum armatum; Ziziphus jujuba.