General
info
Gotu kola— also
known as Centella asiatica, Indian pennywort—has been used for
centuries as a medicinal herb, as far back as 3000 years ago in Indian
Ayurvedic medicine, 2000 years ago in Chinese medicine, in the late
1800s in French pharmacopoeia. Contrary to its name, it contains no
cola or caffeine.
Botany
· A prostrate,
creeping sparingly hairy or nearly smooth perennial herb. The stems
rooting at the nodes, delicate, slender and creeping.
· Leaves: rounded to reniform, 2 to 5 cm wide, horizontal, more
or less cupped, rounded at the tip, and kidney-shaped or heart-shaped
at the base, palmately veined, margins undulate-crenate, the rounded
lobes often overlapping. Petioles erect, 3 to 20 cm and long.
· Flowers: Purple and axillary, ovate, and about 1 cm long. Peduncles
occur in pairs or threes, less than 1 cm long and usually bear 3 sessile
flowers. Flowering October to May.
· Fruits: minute, ovoid, white or green, and reticulate, each
with 9 subsimilar longitudinal ridges.
· 5 carpels, cylindric compressed, about 2.5 mm long, white or
green, reticulate. Ovary inferior. Stamens 5, epigynous.
Distribution
Found in gardens;
thickets; open, damp grasslands on rice paddy banks and streams
throughout the Philippines.
Parts
utilized
· Entire
plant.
· Gather drug material anytime of the year.
Constituents
• Bitter principle, vellarin; pectic acid.
• Chemical analysis of the plant shows the presence of vallarine,
high vitamin B content in the leaves and roots, and a miscellany of
other constituents such as carbohydrates, resins, proteins, ash, alkali,
alkaline salts, phosphates, and tannins.
• Phytochem studies have shown triterpenoid glycosides, free acids,
volatile oils and flavonoids.
Uses
Nutrition
Rich in Vitamin B, it can be eaten as
a salad or vegetable dish.
Folkloric
· Infectious hepatitis,
measles, respiratory tract infections - colds, tonsillitis, laryngopharyngitis,
bronchitis.
· Fresh material: 60 to 260 gms, dried material: 30 to 60 gms:
Take in form of decoction.
· Counterirritant: Pound fresh leaves, mix with vaseline or oil
and apply over affected area as poultice.
• Wounds and sore: The sap of the leaves
is used on wounds and skin sores.
• In many folkloric systems, used for tuberculosis, syphilis,
dysentery, hypertension, venous extremity probolems and common cold.
· In India and Fiji,
roots used forskin inflammation, to improve blood circulation, to treat
bloating, congestion and depression.
· Also considered to be a brain and memory stimulant, used for
Alzheimer's disease and senility.
• In Ayurvedic and Chinese
medicine, used for depression and anxiety.
• In Sri Lanka and Madagascar,
used for a variety of mental and neurological problems.
Studies
• Anxiolytic:
Rat studies have shown decrease in locomotor activity, enhanced maze
performance and attenuated started response. This placebo- controlled
studysuggest Gotu Kola has anxiolytic activity in humans as shown by
the ASR (acoustic startle response).
• Bactericidal:
In vitro study on the effect of CA on enteric pathogens. The alchol
extract was bactericidal against V cholera, Shigella spp, and Staph
aureus and suggests further studies in its potential as an antidiarrheal
drug.
• Wound Healing:
Study on albino rats showed the leaf extract of CA significantly promoted
wound healing and was able to overcome the wound-healing suppression
of dexamethasone.
• Antioxidant: Study
showed CA extract and power may ameliorate H202-induced oxidative stress
by decreasing lipid peroxidation.
• Immunomodulatory:
Study revealed immunomodulatory activity of C asiatica and R nasutus
extracts in both non-specific cellular and humoral immune responses.
Results suggest a chemoproventive or anticancer potential.
• Nerve Regeneration:
Study indicates components in CA ethanolic extract may be beneficial
for accelerating repair of damaged neurons.
• Scleroderma: Single
study found gotu kola decreased joint pain and skin hardening and improved
finger movement. source
• Periodontal
Healing : Study results indicate that the combined use
of extracts of CA and P granatum pericarp significantly reduced the
clinical signs of chronic periodontitis.
• Larvicidal:
Crude extract of leaves of CA showed larvicidal and adult emergence
inhibition against mosquite Cules quinquefasciatus, possibly through
various biogically active compounds–phenolics, terpenoids and
alkaloids.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Tinctures, capsules, extracts in the cybermarket.
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