Gotu kola

Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, Apr 06, 2001 by Sharon Crawford

Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is a member of the Apiaceae carrot family. It is also called pennywort, marsh penny, water pennywort, and sheep rot. The name sheep rot comes from the erroneous belief in Europe that gotu kola caused foot rot in sheep. Gotu kola is often mistaken for the kola nut plant (Cola nitida). However, the two are not related and gotu kola, unlike the kola nut, contains no caffeine. Gotu kola is noted in India as a very powerful spiritual herb, and Ayurvedic medicine refers to it as Brahmi because it helps obtain knowledge of the spiritual being.

Gotu kola, a perennial, grows in India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, South Africa, China, Indonesia, Australia, and North America. It can grow like a weed, but its description depends on its location. For example, in shallow water, the leaves float; but in dry areas, the plant develops many roots and thin, tiny leaves. The fan-shaped leaves may be smooth or lobed. Red flowers turn into fruit with a diameter of about 0.2 in (5 mm).

Gotu kola's main active components are triterpenoids, although the gotu kola found in India, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar doesn't have the same properties. Gotu kola's triterpenes can have a concentration from 1.1-8%, with most concentrations in the middle range.

Gotu kola from Madagascar is used for most standardized extracts, and its four main triterpene properties are:

• asiatic acid (29-30%)
• madecassic acid (29-30%)
• asiaticoside (40%)
• madecassoside (1-2%)

Gotu kola also contains the following.

• volatile oil of a terpene acetate (36% of all the volatile oil)
• camphor
• cineole
• glycerides of some fatty acids
• plant sterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol)
• polyacetylene compounds
• flavonoids (kampferol, quercetin)
• myo-inositol (glycoside from the flavonoids)
• sugars
• vellarin
• amino acids
• resins

Traditional use of gotu kola in India and Indonesia included wound treatment. In the 1800s, it became part of Indian medicine practice and was used to treat many skin conditions including leprosy, varicose ulcers, and eczema, as well as fever, diarrhea, and absence of menses.

Chinese medicine uses various parts of the plant. The leaves are used for leukorrhea and fevers that are toxic, while other types of fevers and boils are treated with gotu kola shoots. Gotu kola used for longevity has become very popular. Chinese herbalist, Li Ching Yun, is supposed to have lived 256 years from drinking a herbal mixture containing gotu kola. An ancient Sinhalese saying, "Two leaves a day will keep old age away," also illustrates gotu kola's popularity as an agent for longevity.

The plant enhances brain and peripheral circulation, and is said to enhance memory. In the 1880s, the French began using gotu kola as part of regular pharmaceutical medicines.

Many current uses are similar to traditional uses of the plant. In a 1992 study at Kasturba Medical College, researchers fed rats gotu kola extract. After 14 days, the gotu kola-treated rats showed 3-60 times better retention of learned behavior than did rats who didn't receive the extract.

Gotu kola may also play a role in fighting Alzheimer's disease , which affects over four million people in the United States. People with this dementia-causing disease have unusual amounts of the protein beta-amyloid (also called plaque) in the brain. A 1999 study conducted by pathology professor Alan Snow at Seattle's University of Washington showed gotu kola's potential for treatment. Snow first mixed a compound from cat's claw and tested it in rats and in test tubes. Results showed that cat's claw intervenes with plaque formation. When other extracts were added to the test tubes, including gotu kola and rosemary, the results were more pronounced.

Besides its use as a general memory aid, gotu kola has become popular in the Western world for its calming effects as well as for improving concentration. This duality occurs because gotu kola affects both the central nervous system and the brain. It relaxes the nervous system while stimulating the brain to focus better. In a 1999 study at the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center, researchers tested several dietary supplements, including gotu kola, for use in depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders . Researchers found little difference in the results of the natural supplements and low- and high-dose antidepressants. However, the studies indicated patients switch to natural supplements because they think they are safer. The research served as a guideline for healthcare professionals to aid their patients' choice of treatment.

Studies have also shown that gotu kola has positive effects on varicose veins , poor blood circulation in the legs and the rest of the circulatory system, leg cramps, and leg swelling. The circulatory improvement occurs because gotu kola decreases vein hardening, improves the connective tissue around veins, and helps the blood to flow through veins. These circulatory and leg benefits were evident in 80% of patients tested in studies conducted in the late 1980s.