Herbs have been associated with memory, alertness and mental clarity for centuries, but modern marketing often makes the evidence sound much stronger than it is.
Some botanicals on this list have been tested in randomized human trials. Others have a long traditional history but much less convincing clinical evidence. Just as importantly, the preparation matters. A study of a standardized extract does not automatically tell us what to expect from a cup of tea, and research on an oral preparation tells us even less about an herb that is burned and inhaled.
This guide looks at six herbs that commonly come up in discussions about memory and cognitive function: ginkgo, rosemary, bacopa, peppermint, culinary sage and gotu kola. The goal is not to rank them as “brain boosters.” It is to separate what is plausible or supported from what is mostly marketing.
Important: No herb on this page has been proven to prevent dementia or replace medical care for memory problems. If you are experiencing new or worsening changes in memory, concentration or thinking, speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
Quick comparison
| Herb | What has actually been studied? | Evidence in humans | Practical takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ginkgo biloba | Mostly standardized leaf extracts | Extensive research, but benefits for healthy cognition remain uncertain and dementia prevention has not been demonstrated | Better viewed as a well-studied supplement with mixed evidence than a reliable “memory herb” |
| Rosemary | Dried leaf, rosemary water and aroma | Several small human studies report short-term cognitive effects, but the evidence base is still limited | Easy culinary or tea herb with interesting, preliminary research |
| Bacopa monnieri | Mostly standardized extracts taken for weeks | Systematic reviews suggest possible benefits for some memory or attention measures | One of the more studied botanicals on this list, but the evidence applies mainly to extracts, not ordinary tea |
| Peppermint | Tea, extracts and aroma | A small recent tea trial reported short-term cognitive changes; broader evidence remains preliminary | A sensible tea herb, but its refreshing taste should not be confused with a proven cognitive effect |
| Culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) | Leaf and standardized sage extracts | Several small controlled trials have reported effects on memory or attention tasks | Promising but preparation-specific. This evidence does not apply automatically to white sage |
| Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) | Extracts and oral preparations | A systematic review found no strong evidence of improvement across cognitive domains | Traditional reputation is stronger than the current clinical evidence |
Before comparing the herbs: preparation matters
One of the easiest ways to overstate herbal research is to talk about the plant while ignoring what researchers actually gave participants.
A trial using a chemically standardized extract is testing a specific preparation with a known concentration. A home infusion may contain a very different amount and mix of compounds. Essential-oil research is different again. These preparations should not be treated as interchangeable.
That matters especially for this topic:
- Ginkgo and bacopa research is dominated by standardized extracts.
- Rosemary research includes oral powder, rosemary water and aroma studies.
- Peppermint has some tea-specific research, but it is still a small evidence base.
- Sage studies use specific species and preparations, not “sage” as a generic category.
- Gotu kola has traditional oral use, but human cognitive findings remain inconsistent.
And because Smokably also writes about herbs used in smoking blends, one boundary is worth stating clearly: oral or tea research does not demonstrate a cognitive benefit from smoking the same herb. Burning a plant changes its chemistry and creates combustion products, so this article does not treat smoking as a cognitive delivery method.
1. Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo is probably the most famous “memory herb,” and also a good example of why popularity and evidence are not the same thing.
Ginkgo leaf extracts have been studied extensively, particularly in older adults and people with cognitive impairment. However, the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition, and large trials have not shown that it prevents dementia or slows cognitive decline. Research on cognitive performance in healthy people is also uncertain.
That does not mean every ginkgo study is negative. Some reviews have reported modest effects in particular populations or with specific standardized products. The problem is consistency: results vary by population, outcome and preparation.
If you are interested in ginkgo because it is marketed for “brain health,” the most accurate expectation is uncertainty, not a guaranteed improvement in memory or focus.
2. Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
Rosemary is much easier to fit into everyday use. It is a familiar culinary herb, makes a strongly aromatic infusion and has also been studied in small human experiments involving memory and attention.
A randomized study in healthy adults found several small cognitive differences after participants drank rosemary water compared with plain mineral water. Earlier work has also examined dried rosemary leaf and rosemary aroma. These studies are interesting, but they are relatively small and use different preparations, so they do not establish rosemary as a reliable cognitive enhancer.
The sensory experience is less controversial. Rosemary has a sharp, pine-like, resinous aroma that many people find bright and stimulating. That can make a rosemary infusion feel mentally fresh even without assuming a medical effect.
Rosemary is one of the more sensible herbs on this list if your interest is simply in an aromatic tea or food herb with some preliminary cognitive research behind it.
3. Bacopa monnieri (brahmi)
Bacopa has a long history in Ayurvedic medicine and is one of the botanicals most often sold in modern nootropic supplements.
Unlike many “focus herbs,” bacopa has been evaluated in multiple randomized human trials. A systematic review of controlled trials found some evidence for improvements in memory free recall, while evidence for other cognitive domains was much thinner. Another meta-analysis reported effects on some attention-related measures.
There is an important catch: most of this work used standardized bacopa extracts for approximately 12 weeks or longer. That is very different from drinking an occasional cup of loose herb tea.
More recent reviews continue to find signals worth studying, but the results still depend heavily on dose, extract composition, study design and the particular cognitive test being used.
If you choose a bacopa supplement, the most sensible approach is to use a reputable standardized product according to its label rather than trying to recreate a clinical study at home.
4. Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)
Peppermint is one of the easiest herbs here to use as a normal tea. It is familiar, widely available and strongly aromatic, with menthol producing its characteristic cooling sensation.
The cognitive evidence is much smaller than the popularity of peppermint might suggest. A recent randomized placebo-controlled study involving 25 adults found short-term differences in cognition and cerebral blood flow after peppermint tea, but a trial that small should be treated as preliminary evidence, not proof that peppermint tea improves memory or concentration.
Peppermint also illustrates an important distinction between a sensory effect and a cognitive effect. A cool, bright aroma can feel refreshing and alerting. That experience is real, but it is not the same thing as demonstrating a measurable improvement in cognitive performance.
For most people interested in this topic, peppermint makes more sense as a pleasant, caffeine-free tea than as something that needs to be marketed as a nootropic.
5. Culinary sage (Salvia officinalis)
“Sage” needs more precision than it usually gets online.
The human cognition research generally involves culinary sage (Salvia officinalis), Spanish sage (Salvia lavandulifolia), or standardized products combining specific Salvia extracts. It does not automatically apply to every species called sage.
That distinction matters for Smokably because white sage (Salvia apiana) is a different plant. Research involving S. officinalis should not be used to make cognitive claims about white sage simply because both share the common name “sage.”
Several small placebo-controlled studies have reported changes in working memory, attention or task performance after specific sage preparations. For example, a 2021 randomized trial of a proprietary combination of S. officinalis and S. lavandulifolia extracts reported benefits on several working-memory and accuracy measures. Earlier studies have also examined dried S. officinalis leaf and standardized sage extracts.
These are legitimate human studies, but they are still relatively small and preparation-specific.
Of all the corrections this article needed, species accuracy around sage is one of the most important.
6. Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
Gotu kola has a long history of use in South and Southeast Asian herbal traditions and is often described online as a “brain tonic.” Modern clinical evidence is much less definitive than that reputation suggests.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found no significant improvement across the cognitive-function domains examined when gotu kola was compared with placebo. The authors noted possible effects on some mood-related measures, but also highlighted major differences in dose, preparation and product standardization across studies.
That makes gotu kola a useful example of an herb where traditional interest is genuine, but the modern evidence does not justify turning that history into a confident cognition claim.
Smokably carries gotu kola, but that is not a reason to overstate the research. If you use it, it makes more sense to approach it as a traditional botanical with uncertain cognitive effects.
Which of these herbs has the strongest evidence?
There is no clean winner because the research asks different questions and uses different preparations.
If we narrow the question to human cognitive studies, bacopa and sage have some of the more consistently interesting trial data on this list. Ginkgo has been studied far more extensively, but the overall picture is surprisingly mixed, especially in healthy adults and for dementia prevention. Rosemary and peppermint have smaller, intriguing studies that need replication. Gotu kola has a substantial traditional reputation, but systematic-review evidence for cognitive improvement is weak.
That is very different from saying one herb is “best for memory.” The evidence is not precise enough for that kind of ranking.
Tea, food or extract: which format makes the most sense?
For a practical everyday botanical routine, the six herbs do not fit equally well.
Peppermint, rosemary and culinary sage are natural food or tea herbs. Their aroma and flavor can be enjoyed without turning them into a supplement protocol.
Ginkgo and bacopa are different. Most of the human research behind their cognitive reputations uses standardized extracts. A homemade tea is not equivalent to those products.
Gotu kola falls somewhere in between. It has a history of use as food and herbal preparation, but much of the research still involves extracts or defined oral products.
If your goal is simply an enjoyable herbal drink, it is reasonable to choose based on flavor first. If your goal is to reproduce a research result, that is much harder, because the preparation used in the trial matters.
What about smoking these herbs?
Some of these plants also appear in herbal smoking discussions, but that is outside the evidence reviewed here.
A study showing an effect from swallowing a standardized extract does not show that the same plant has the same effect when smoked. Heating and combustion alter plant compounds and create new chemicals in smoke. For that reason, this article does not recommend smoking any of these herbs for memory, focus or cognitive enhancement.
If you are specifically interested in how herbs function in smoking blends, Smokably has separate guides to base herbs, flavoring herbs, and popular herbs used in legal herbal blends.
Safety and sensible use
“Natural” does not mean free of side effects or interactions. The risk also changes with the preparation. A cup of culinary herb tea is not the same exposure as a concentrated extract or essential oil.
A few practical rules are worth keeping:
- Check the species. This is especially important with sage. Salvia officinalis is not the same plant as white sage (Salvia apiana).
- Do not improvise clinical doses. Milligram amounts from a trial refer to a particular preparation, not every product with the same herb name.
- Be careful with concentrated products. Essential oils and standardized extracts are not equivalent to dried leaves.
- Check medication interactions. Ginkgo in particular can interact with some medications, including anticoagulants.
- Use extra caution during pregnancy, breastfeeding or when managing a medical condition. A pharmacist or clinician can help check whether a botanical product fits safely with medications or health conditions.
- Treat persistent memory or concentration changes as a health question, not a supplement-shopping problem. New cognitive symptoms deserve proper assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Do herbs really improve memory?
Some herbal preparations have produced measurable changes in memory or attention tasks in controlled human studies. The evidence varies substantially by herb, preparation and population, and no herb on this page should be expected to reliably improve memory for everyone.
Is ginkgo proven to improve memory?
No. Ginkgo is heavily marketed for memory and has been studied extensively, but evidence for cognitive benefits in healthy people is uncertain. Large studies also have not shown that ginkgo prevents dementia or slows cognitive decline.
Is bacopa better supported than ginkgo?
Bacopa has several randomized trials and systematic reviews suggesting possible benefits for some memory outcomes after weeks of standardized extract use. Ginkgo has a much larger research base overall, but results are inconsistent. The two botanicals also use different preparations and have not historically been studied in directly comparable ways, so a simple “better” ranking is misleading.
Can I just make tea from these herbs?
You can make ordinary herbal infusions from culinary herbs such as peppermint, rosemary and culinary sage. However, a tea should not be assumed to reproduce findings from a study that used a standardized extract. Ginkgo and bacopa are particularly important examples of that distinction.
Is white sage the same as the sage used in cognition studies?
No. White sage is Salvia apiana. Much of the cognition research involves culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) or Spanish sage (Salvia lavandulifolia). They are different species, and findings should not be transferred from one to another without evidence.
Can these herbs prevent dementia?
There is no good evidence that these herbs prevent dementia. Ginkgo has been tested in large prevention trials and did not reduce dementia incidence. Anyone concerned about cognitive decline should discuss it with a healthcare professional rather than relying on herbal products.
The bottom line
Herbs and cognitive function are an interesting research area, but the honest story is more nuanced than most “brain boosting herbs” lists suggest.
Bacopa and sage have some encouraging human research. Rosemary and peppermint have smaller preliminary studies. Ginkgo is extensively studied but remains inconsistent, especially for healthy cognition and dementia prevention. Gotu kola has a strong traditional reputation but weak clinical evidence for cognitive improvement.
For everyday use, peppermint, rosemary and culinary sage make sense as flavorful tea or food herbs without needing grand claims attached to them. If you are considering concentrated extracts such as bacopa or ginkgo, pay attention to the actual preparation, product quality and possible medication interactions.
The useful question is not simply “Which herb boosts the brain?” It is what was studied, in what form, in whom, and how convincing were the results?
Selected references
The studies below are included because they directly inform the claims made in this article. Most investigate oral preparations or extracts. They should not be interpreted as evidence for smoking the herbs.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Ginkgo: Usefulness and Safety. NCCIH.
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ginkgo - Pase MP, Kean J, Sarris J, Neale C, Scholey AB, Stough C. The cognitive-enhancing effects of Bacopa monnieri: a systematic review of randomized, controlled human clinical trials. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2012;18(7):647-652.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22747190/ - Kongkeaw C, Dilokthornsakul P, Thanarangsarit P, Limpeanchob N, Norman Scholfield C. Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on cognitive effects of Bacopa monnieri extract. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2014;151(1):528-535.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24252493/ - Moss M, Cook J, Wesnes K, Duckett P. Aromas of rosemary and lavender essential oils differentially affect cognition and mood in healthy adults. International Journal of Neuroscience. 2003;113(1):15-38.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12690999/ - Moss M, Oliver L. Acute ingestion of rosemary water: Evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2018.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30318972/ - A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial Exploring the Short-Term Cognitive and Cerebrovascular Effects of Consuming Peppermint Tea: A Mediation Study. 2025.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40189738/ - Kennedy DO, Pace S, Haskell C, Okello EJ, Milne A, Scholey AB. Effects of cholinesterase inhibiting sage (Salvia officinalis) on mood, anxiety and performance on a psychological stressor battery. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006;31(4):845-852.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16205785/ - Wightman EL, Jackson PA, Spittlehouse B, Heffernan T, Guillemet D, Kennedy DO. The acute and chronic cognitive effects of a sage extract: a randomized, placebo controlled study in healthy humans. Nutrients. 2021;13(1):218.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33466627/ - Puttarak P, Dilokthornsakul P, Saokaew S, et al. Effects of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. on cognitive function and mood related outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:10646.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28878245/
Photo credits
Product photos of peppermint and gotu kola are from Smokably.
Additional photos:
- Ginkgo: Pixabay (Content License)
- Rosemary: Pixabay (Content License)
- Culinary sage (scoop): photo from Pixabay (sage-1544884, Content License)
- Bacopa: Forest & Kim Starr / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
