Centella asiatica L. (Gotu Kola) Urban (Syn. Gotu Kola coriacea Nannfd., Hydrocotyle asiatica L., Hydrocotyle lunata Lam., and Trisanthus cochinchinensis Lour.) is a tropical medicinal plant from Apiaceae family native to Southeast Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia as well as South Africa and Madagascar (Jamil, Nizami, & Salam, 2007). It is native to the warmer regions of both hemispheres. This plant grows wild in damp, shady places up to 7000 ft. and can be commonly seen along banks of rivers, streams, ponds, and irrigated fields. It also grows along stone walls or other rocky areas at elevation of approximately 2000 ft. in India and Sri Lanka (Sayasinha, Warnasuriya, & Dissanayake, 1999). The plant is also indigenous to China, the western South Sea Island, Australia, Madagascar, Southern United States, and insular and continental tropical America. This slender usually creeping herb is especially abundant in the tropical regions. The other common names of the plant are Asiatic Penny wort, Indian Pennywort, Thick-leaved Pennywort, and Gotu Kola. C. asiatica has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years in India, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Madagascar. It is one of the chief herbs for treating skin problems, to heal wounds (Shukla et al., 1999; Somboonwong, Kankaisre, Tantisira, & Tantisira, 2012), and for revitalizing the nerves and brain cells, hence primarily known as a “Brain food” in India, and many ailments in the body.

8 Health Benefits of Gotu Kola a Medicinal Plant – Centella Asiatica

Medicinal plants are found in abundance in Meghalaya. Northeast is considered to be one of the two hotpots of medicinal plants in India. The other hotspot being the Western Ghats. Even though Meghalaya has 850 species of medicinal plants, there is still a lack of awareness and knowledge within the state itself resulting in overexploitation of land resources leading to depletion of Meghalaya treasure.

There is a lack of awareness about the healing properties of herbal medicines. People are becoming more dependent on synthetic drugs which are easily accessible, especially when they are city dwellers.

1. Prevents Nervous Disorders

There are many health issues related to nervous disorder; such as Parkinson’s disease that affects the central nervous system; Carpel tunnel syndrome, which causes numbness in the arms, paralysis, Bell’s palsy, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, to name a few. These illnesses are related to the nervous system and can cause health complications.

Gotu Kola has an anti anxiety agent which helps in relieving stress, enhancing the mood and inducing sleep thereby calming the nervous system.
The molecular mechanism of Gotu Kola on neuroprotection remains to be elucidated.

2. Memory Improvement

Gotu kola is also popular as brain food. It enhances or improves your memory.
When the aqueous extract of the whole plant is consumed, it enhances memory retention and learning and reduces the lipid per-oxidation and growth of endogenous antioxidant enzymes in the brain.

Gotu kola extract has been used to treat Alzheimer’s, a cognitive disorder and memory impairment disease. The herb is long used in Ayurvedic to treat mental and cognitive disorders.

Gotu kola also helps in stimulating your brain’s neural pathways by eliminating plaque and free radicals from the brain.

3. Boost Blood Circulation

Gotu kola is known to support healthy veins and vessels throughout the circulatory system.

The most common problems due to degeneration or malfunction of blood circulation is varicose veins and haemorrhoids.

When the extract of Gotu kola leaves is consumed, triterpenes a molecule of Gotu Kola works on the veins, improving their tone and making them less susceptible to the degenerative processes that can lead to varicose veins and other problems.

4. Regulate Blood Sugar Level

Gotu kola is well known by the Khasis people in helping to control blood sugar levels. The herb is steeped overnight in hot water, and the water is extracted and consumed the following day.

Gotu Kola is a strong candidate for alleviating diabetic symptoms, and perhaps controlling the increase of diabetes mellitus, because of its various compounds and functions. (Source: Archives in Cancer Research)

5. Stress Buster

Stress is becoming a common factor in the present age with a hectic lifestyle, and daily pressure in different forms. Stress can lead to sleep deprivation, the result of which is anxiety.

Gotu Kola has immense therapeutic potential. The herb has a positive effect on anxiety issues. It calms the adrenal glands, which in turn lowers the release of stress hormone and increases dopamine and serotonin levels.

6. Wound Healing

As kids, we are always falling and covered in bruises and wounds. What our elders would do is take a bunch of Gotu kola leaves, moisten the herb with saliva chew it for a while. With chewing it becomes dark green in colour. This is then taken out and applied on the wound with a bandage wrapped around it. The bandage is left for a day. Depending on the intensity of the wound, the dressing is changed.

Pharmacological experiments have proven that the increased antioxidant activity of Gotu kola indicates the wound healing properties of Gotu Kola extract.

Gotu kola provides the same healing property when consumed orally. When taken in its natural form or powdered form, the herb aid in stimulating blood flow to the cells and protects your immune system against infections, thus, speeding up the healing process in your body.

7. Relieve Joint Pain

Because of the presence of anti-inflammatory properties of Gotu Kola, it helps in relieving from joint pain. The herb is used in treating arthritis.

Research had shown that when Gotu kola was administered orally it suppressed joint inflammation. The herb is also shown to reduce cartilage erosion and bone erosion.

8. Skin Treatment

Because of its numerous health benefit when consumed, Gotu kola has also been tried and tested and used externally to determine its benefits, and it has always proved to give a positive result.

Gotu Kola can also help you achieve the skin you desire. Applying Gotu kola paste on your skin reduce the appearance of wrinkles scars and other skin blemishes.