Memory Advance Tincture

What is in the blend

• Bacopa (brahmi) - a small creeping succulent of wet ground across India and the tropics, with fleshy leaves and tiny white flowers; the whole herb is used. It is the bacopa brahmi, a different plant from gotu kola, which also carries the name brahmi in some regions.
• Ginkgo leaf - the fan-shaped leaf of Ginkgo biloba, the last survivor of a tree lineage older than the dinosaurs. The leaf, not the seed, is used here.
• Sage and rosemary - two aromatic evergreens of the Mediterranean scrub and the kitchen garden, both in the mint family: the soft gray-green leaf of common garden sage and the needle-like leaf of rosemary. This is Salvia officinalis, not red sage (danshen) or white sage.
• Schisandra berry (Wu Wei Zi, the five-flavor fruit) - the red berry of a woody vine of northern China and the Russian Far East, named for tasting sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent at once.
• Turmeric rhizome - the bright orange underground stem of a ginger-family plant of South Asia, the source of the kitchen spice; it stains everything it touches.
• Yerba mate - the leaf of a South American holly, dried and brewed as the traditional mate of Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil; it naturally contains caffeine.

Why a tincture

The seven dried herbs are macerated together in organic alcohol with a little vegetable glycerin and water - the classic herbal method. A tincture keeps for years at room temperature in a cool, dark place, has a bitter, aromatic taste with notes of sage and rosemary, and a few drops disappear in a glass of water or juice. A serving of 20 to 30 drops is roughly 1 ml of liquid, so the amount of alcohol per serving is small.

How to use

Adults only. Shake well before use. Put the number of drops shown on the label into a little water or juice and drink it, up to the frequency shown on the label. Do not exceed the label serving. Take it in the morning or early afternoon because of the caffeine, and do not combine with coffee, energy drinks or other caffeine or stimulant products. Because sage leaf contains thujone, use this blend in short courses of no more than two weeks at a time without talking to your practitioner. If you take any medication, take this blend at least two hours apart from it. Store in a cool, dark place with the cap tight.

Tincture or drops?

If you avoid alcohol or prefer a milder taste, the same seven-herb blend is available as Memory Advance Alcohol-Free Drops - the glycerite version. The herbs and proportions are identical; only the extraction liquid differs. Our Memory Booster Tincture is a different three-herb blend of ginkgo, gotu kola and rosemary.