Shankhpushpi: Traditional Uses, Evidence & Safety

TL;DR

Shankhpushpi is Ayurveda's medhya rasayana, the brain tonic for memory, intellect, and mental calm, though the name covers several different plants. No controlled human trial has tested whether it improves cognition. The encouraging signals come from rodent and cell studies, plus two small open-label studies in India. It appears safe at ordinary doses but may lower blood pressure.

What it is

Shankhpushpi means "conch flower," after the small trumpet-shaped blooms. Classical Ayurveda places it among the medhya rasayanas, the rejuvenatives said to nourish intellect and memory.

The botany is the first honest problem. Three plants are commonly sold under this one name: Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy, Evolvulus alsinoides Linn., and Clitoria ternatea Linn. A fourth, Canscora decussata, turns up in some regions (Malik et al. 2011 abstract; JAHM review 2021). The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India identifies Convolvulus pluricaulis as Shankhapushpi, but regional practice varies: Kerala physicians, for example, have not always distinguished shankhpushpi from aparajita (C. ternatea) (identification study).

One more wrinkle. The name on the pharmacopoeia, Convolvulus pluricaulis, is itself a synonym. Kew's Plants of the World Online treats the accepted name as Convolvulus prostratus Forssk., with C. pluricaulis listed among its heterotypic synonyms (POWO). So the literature's "C. pluricaulis" and the taxonomist's "C. prostratus" are the same plant. The older base draft on this site already used C. prostratus; that part was right.

The Charaka Samhita wiki entry records the classical attributes: tastes (rasa) of astringent, pungent, and bitter; cold potency (sheeta virya); sweet post-digestive effect (madhura vipaka); unctuous, slimy, and heavy qualities; and an action of pacifying vata and pitta, with medhya as its special effect (Charak Samhita entry). The part used is the whole plant (panchanga) (identification paper).

Reported constituents of C. pluricaulis include the flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin, the coumarins scopoletin and ayapanin, hydroxycinnamic acid, and β-sitosterol (ECAM review 2022). Tropane alkaloids including convolamine, convolvine, convoline, convolidine, confoline, and convosine have also been reported in the species (Ayurlog NJRAS). The 2022 review's conclusion is worth keeping in view: it calls the evidence for dementia protection preclinical and computational, which is a careful way of saying unproven.

Traditional use

Ayurvedic texts use shankhpushpi as a medhya rasayana for weak memory, poor concentration, mental fatigue, restlessness, anxiety, and insomnia (JAHM review 2021; identification paper). It appears in classical compound formulations: Charaka's Jeevaniya Ghrita includes it as an ingredient, and the Chikitsa Sthana text records it in the treatment of atattvabhinivesha, a condition of disturbed intellect and perception (Charak Samhita entry).

These are traditional claims, not clinical proof. The research record is examined separately below, and the two are not the same thing.

What modern research says

Human cognition: the missing trial

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's cognitive-vitality review of shankhpushpi states the bottom line directly: no randomized controlled clinical trials have tested whether it improves cognitive function or prevents age-related cognitive decline (ADDF evidence summary). That single sentence is the most important thing in this article.

Two open-label clinical studies exist, both small and both without placebo control. In one, 102 young healthy volunteers took 500 mg shankhpushpi tablets twice daily after food with milk for two months, compared against a yoga intervention rather than a placebo; the shankhpushpi group appeared to improve on long-term memory tests, but without a placebo group the finding cannot be called causal (Amin & Sharma 2015, Int J Yoga, summarized in ADDF). In the other, 90 schoolchildren received a multi-herb combination including shankhpushpi for three months; short-term memory improved, but with many herbs in the mixture no effect can be attributed to shankhpushpi specifically (Sarokte & Rao 2013, Ayu, summarized in ADDF).

Memory in animals: the real evidence base

The strongest comparative work is a 2011 rodent study that tested aqueous methanol extracts of all three candidate species side by side. In rats, C. pluricaulis extract at 100 mg/kg showed the strongest nootropic and anxiolytic effects (p < 0.001); E. alsinoides needed 200 mg/kg for its best effect; and while E. alsinoides and C. ternatea showed antidepressant-like activity, C. pluricaulis did not. All three depressed central nervous system activity at higher doses. On the strength of the memory results, the authors proposed C. pluricaulis as the true source of shankhpushpi (Malik, Karan & Vasisht 2011).

Other animal findings: an extract of C. pluricaulis protected Wistar rats against scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment (Bihaqi et al. 2011, Indian J Pharmacol), and modulated synaptic plasticity in rat hippocampus (Das et al. 2020, Neuroreport).

The species-identity problem cuts both ways. One rat study tested an aqueous extract of Evolvulus alsinoides (the southern "shankhpushpi") in an electroconvulsive-shock amnesia model and found no favorable effect on learning or on shock-induced retrograde amnesia. A null result, honestly reported, and it shows why the species on the label matters (Mali, Andrade and colleagues; study described in the identification paper).

Cell and fly work exists too: extracts showed protective effects against amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in a mouse neuronal cell line and ameliorated tau-induced neurotoxicity in a fruit-fly model of Alzheimer's disease (Kizhakke et al. 2019; Liu et al. 2012, summarized in ADDF). Mechanistic leads, nothing more.

What the evidence does not support (yet)

No controlled human trial supports shankhpushpi for memory, focus, anxiety, or sleep in people. The entire modern case rests on animal, cell, and fly work, plus two open-label human studies without placebos. Worse, the animal literature is not even always testing the same plant: studies of "shankhpushpi" have used C. pluricaulis, E. alsinoides, and C. ternatea, and their results differ by species. Any claim that pools them as one herb is laundering the ambiguity.

Dosage

There is no established human dose of shankhpushpi. The only published human study tested 500 mg tablets twice daily after food with milk for two months, an open-label study in 102 young volunteers with no placebo control (ADDF evidence summary). That is a tested dose, not a recommendation. No pharmacopoeial human dose was found in the sources reviewed for this article.

Safety & contraindications

The ADDF assessment describes shankhpushpi as generally thought safe at common recommended doses, based on long traditional use rather than systematic safety studies (ADDF evidence summary). Three cautions are specific. It has a mild blood-pressure-lowering effect, so people with low blood pressure or those taking antihypertensive medications should consult a physician first. A review of herb-drug interactions found it can lower blood concentrations of the anti-seizure drug phenytoin, risking loss of seizure control. And no data were identified on pregnancy, breastfeeding, or pediatric safety; the schoolchildren study above tested a multi-herb mixture, not shankhpushpi alone. The animal CNS-depressant findings suggest combining it with sedating drugs without medical supervision is unwise. Tradition calls it gentle. Tradition is not toxicology, and I do not soften any of that.

FAQs

Which plant is shankhpushpi, really?

Officially Convolvulus pluricaulis (accepted botanical name: Convolvulus prostratus), per the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. In practice, Evolvulus alsinoides, Clitoria ternatea, and Canscora decussata are also sold under the name, and they do not behave identically in studies. Buy it and the species inside is not guaranteed (JAHM review 2021; POWO).

What is shankhpushpi used for in Ayurveda?

As a medhya rasayana: memory, intellect, concentration, mental calm, and sleep. Traditional uses, not clinically proven effects. I keep that distinction on every page.

Does shankhpushpi improve memory?

In rodents, the published animal studies say yes for Convolvulus pluricaulis extracts. In people, no randomized controlled trial has tested it. Two small open-label studies in India reported memory improvements but had no placebo control (ADDF evidence summary).

No established human dose exists. The only published human study tested 500 mg twice daily after food with milk for two months; that was an open-label study, not a dosing recommendation. Anyone who gives you a firm dose is improvising (ADDF evidence summary).

Is shankhpushpi safe?

It is generally regarded as safe at ordinary doses, but systematic safety data are lacking. It may lower blood pressure and can reduce blood levels of the anti-seizure drug phenytoin. There are no safety data for pregnancy, breastfeeding, or children (ADDF evidence summary).

Can it be taken with psychiatric medication?

There are no interaction studies beyond the phenytoin finding. Animal studies show CNS-depressant effects at higher doses (Malik et al. 2011), so combining it with prescription sedatives or psychiatric drugs without medical supervision is not advisable.

Why do studies of shankhpushpi disagree with each other?

Because they may be studying different plants. The 2011 comparative rodent study found C. pluricaulis the strongest nootropic while an E. alsinoides extract failed to protect memory in a rat amnesia model. "Shankhpushpi" is one drug name covering multiple species (Malik et al. 2011).

Voices

The classical texts

The Charak Samhita wiki entry places shankhpushpi twice in the clinical record. Chikitsa Sthana 10/62 uses it in the treatment of atattvabhinivesha, a disorder of intellect and perception. Chikitsa Sthana 29/62 names it as an ingredient of Jeevaniya Ghrita, a ghee-based rejuvenative formulation. The entry's pharmacology table records its tastes as astringent, pungent, and bitter, its potency as cold, its post-digestive effect as sweet, and its actions as pacifying vata and pitta, with medhya (intellect-promoting) as its special effect (Charak Samhita entry).

A 2021 review in the Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine notes that Charaka classifies shankhpushpi among the four medhya rasayanas and that the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India names the Convolvulus pluricaulis variety as Shankhapushpi, even as practitioners regionally accept four different plants under the name (JAHM review 2021). The identity argument is old. The ancients left it unresolved, and the pharmacopoeia's ruling has not settled practice.

The modern clinic

The closest thing shankhpushpi has to human data comes from two open-label studies, and they deserve to be read with the controls they lacked. Amin and Sharma (2015, International Journal of Yoga) compared shankhpushpi therapy against a yoga intervention in 102 young healthy volunteers; the herb group appeared to gain in long-term memory measures, but with no placebo arm, the result is suggestive at best (ADDF summary). Sarokte and Rao (2013, Ayu) gave a medhya-rasayana herbal combination to 90 schoolchildren for three months and saw short-term memory gains against control and yoga groups; shankhpushpi was only one ingredient, so its individual contribution cannot be isolated (ADDF summary). Honest researchers would call both of these pilots, not evidence.

Sources

The human-evidence assessment is the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's Cognitive Vitality review of shankhpushpi, which found no randomized controlled trials and summarized the two open-label studies, the preclinical literature, and the safety signals (mild blood-pressure lowering; phenytoin interaction via Fugh-Berman's 2000 Lancet herb-drug interaction review) (full page). The two open-label studies are Amin H & Sharma R (2015), "Nootropic efficacy of Satvavajaya Chikitsa and Ayurvedic drug therapy: A comparative clinical exposition," International Journal of Yoga 8:109-116, and Sarokte AS & Rao MV (2013), "Effects of Medhya Rasayana and Yogic practices in improvement of short-term memory among school-going children," Ayu 34:383-389.

The three-species rodent comparison is Malik J, Karan M & Vasisht K (2011), "Nootropic, anxiolytic and CNS-depressant studies on different plant sources of shankhpushpi," Pharmaceutical Biology 49:1234-1242 (abstract). The botanical-identity controversy and the four candidate species are covered in the 2021 Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine review "An updated review on Shankhpushpi - As Medhya Rasayana" (PDF), which also states the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India's identification of C. pluricaulis as Shankhapushpi. The accepted-name taxonomy comes from Kew's Plants of the World Online (Convolvulus prostratus).

Reported constituents come from the 2022 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine review of shankhpushpi in dementia (DOI 10.1155/2022/1015310) and an Ayurlog: National Journal of Research in Ayurved Science constituent survey (PDF). Classical references and the rasa-guna-virya-vipaka attributes come from the Charak Samhita wiki entry for Shankhapushpi (entry). The null Evolvulus amnesia finding is described in the paper on identification of shankhpushpi by morphological, chemical, and molecular markers (ResearchGate).

No human safety trial of shankhpushpi was identified in the searches conducted for this article.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Herbal products can interact with medications and are not suitable for everyone. Talk to a qualified healthcare practitioner before use — especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, managing a medical condition, or taking prescription medicines. Do not use herbs as a substitute for evaluated care of cognitive or psychiatric conditions.