With increasing life expectancies and the maturation of the “baby boom” generation, adapting to the challenges posed by the aging population has been identied as one of the major issues facing contemporary Australian society (Australian Productivity Commission, 2005). For Australia, like many Western nations, human aging has significant societal, economic, health, and, importantly, personal costs. In purely economic terms, the costs of aging reect decreased productivity as well as increased levels of reliance on public services to health and social support but this also has obvious ramications for older citizens’ ability to lead fulfilling lives. Increasing age is associated with a cluster of illnesses involving oxidative stress, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and, importantly, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The New Zealand Treasury has estimated that the cost to the public health system alone of individuals over 65 years of age is five times

What Is Cognitive Aging? ......................................................................................242 Brain Aging and Oxidative Stress ..........................................................................242 Antioxidants and Cognition ................................................................................... 243 Bacopa Monnieri ...................................................................................................244 Extracts of BM .......................................................................................................244 Human Clinical Trials ............................................................................................245 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 247 References .............................................................................................................. 247

that of people under 65 (Bryant and Sonerson, 2006). The same report concludes that 33% of these increased costs could be offset by measures aimed at maintaining improved health, which of course also involves brain and cognitive processes.