India has a large number of plants with medicinal properties. This is one among the factors that helped the country achieve prominence in the field of Ayurveda and Siddha forms of medicine. Many of these plants are now endangered. Lack of awareness about the uses and properties of these plants can be said to be the major cause for this situation.

The Department of Posts brought out on 28 October 1997 four stamps with pictures of some of these precious plants, easily grown in India.

The featured plant is “Brahmi”. Brahmi has antioxidant properties. It has been reported to reduce oxidation of fats in the bloodstream, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Another use has been to improve memory. Long-term memory capacity enhancement is reported on consumption of Brahmi extract.