Restores as it cools and clears.
Common names: Asian centella, Indian Pennywort, Gotu kola, Brahmi, Ji Xue Cao, Jik Syut Chou, Gam Hok Chou, Snow plant
Taxonomic name: Centella asiatica (synonym: Hydrocotyle asiatica)
Family: Apiaceae
Related herbs: Carrots, Angelica, Parsnip, Parsley, Fennel, Celery,
Area of origin: Africa, Asia, Australia, Western Pacific Ocean (islands)
Parts used: whole plant
Has been used medicinally for: tumours, lumps, UTI, skin disease, scarring, , energy boost, memory tonic, Alzheimer’s, inflammation, bruising, venous insufficiency, gastric ulcers, pain relief (antinociceptive – the word of the day!),
Organs/Systems: Liver, Spleen, Kidney. Urinary system, circulatory system, nervous system, lymphatic system, digestive system.
Meridians: Liver, Spleen, Lung. Muscles, nerves, uterus and genitals, lungs, circulatory system.
Healing Actions: adaptogen, adrenal-cortico restorative, aging retardant, alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, antileprotic, antidepressant, antiepileptic, antiseptic, antirheumatic, antipyretic, antispasmodic ,anti-venomous, antiviral, aphrodisiac, anxiolytic, bitter, circulostimulant, CNS restorative,, connective tissue restorative, depressant, collagenic, depurative, dermagenic, dermatropic, detoxicant, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, fungicide, hypoglycemic, immunomodulator, immune restorative, immunostimulant, lactagogue, laxative, nervine restorative, propesic, radioprotective, restorative, sedative, spermicide, stimulant, stomachic, styptic, tonic, tranquilizer, venous decongestant, vulnerary.
TCM: Clears heat, resolves dampness, reduces toxicity. Mildly calms Shen.
Taste: cold, dry, pungent, sweet, bitter
Tissue states: hot, dry, damp, torpor
Energetics: cooling, moistening, draining, stimulating
Healing constituents: Triterpenoids (inc. asiatic acid, madecassic acid). Triterpenoid glycosides (saponins) (inc. asiaticoside, madecassicoside, centellose, centelloside). Alkaloid: hydrocotylin. Bitter principles (triterpenes and phenolic compounds). Triterpenic acids (inc. asiatic, madecassic). Tannins
Contraindications and warnings: Pregnancy and lactation,
Epilepsy. Large, continuous does may cause headache, dizziness or temporary fainting.
May cause dermatosis. Skin itching may be experienced when treatment commences.
Long term use on the skin can cause skin irritation, red eyes and problems with the lymph nodes.
Plants can take up heavy metals from their immediate environment. May cause drowsiness.. Taken for a long time, Gotu Kola can affect liver function.
Drug/herb interactions: Gotu Kola May interfere with blood pressure, cholesterol and depression medications.
Description
A moisture loving creeping, perennial, C. asiatica has large, rounded leaves (up to 4 cm across) thay have a clearly visible network of veins. The leaves have scalloped edges (crenate) and are notched where they join the petiole (stalk), this is a feature that distinguishes them from Hydrocotyle species which are often mistaken for Centella. The petioles are green with a purplish tinge in most cases and arize from creeping stolons (underground stems). Leaf size and petiole length vary a lot depending on the amount of sunlight the plant receives – the leaves tend to be larger on plants growing in the shade, and the petiole up to 20 cm long.
Flowers are small and white, with 5 petals and grow in clusters on the end of stalks (pedicles). I’ve never seen Gotu Kola flower here in South Australia, so can’t share a good pic with you.
Gotu Kola is also called ‘Brahmi’ in some herbal products, websites and books. The confusion, I think comes from the fact that in southern and eastern India, Bacopa is called ‘Brahmi’ but in northern and western India, Centella asiatica is called by that name. They are totally different plants, physically, though they’re often grouped together medicinally, as you will see from reading this page and the one on Brahmi , they have different properties.
Medicinal uses
Keywords – detoxifying, congestion, deficiencies, restoring
Gotu Kola (C. asiatica is known) in parts of Asia as “snow plant” for its cooling properties. It is these properties that are foremost in its healing abilities, even the stimulation ones. Of course, the healing a powers of the plant depend on how it is used – fresh or dried.
The fresh green juice is rich in vitamin A and is commonly drunk in the afternoon throughout parts of Asia as a thirst quencher or as a cooling drink to reduce “inner heat and in Thailand, a brew of the fresh leaves is used as an afternoon stimulant. A decoction of juice from the leaves is used to relieve hypertension, and a poultice of the fresh leaves is used to treat wounds (especially inflamed ones). I think the stimulating effect may come from the fact that the herb is so cooling that it frees up energy that is suppressed by the hot daily weather and becomes invigorating.
Powder made from the dried leaves of Gotu Kola can be used mixed with honey and used against insomnia, or mixed with water and drunk or applied to the chest as a warm compress used to treat coughs and tuberculosis.
The dried leaves are used as a tea to relieve hypertension and to treat severe sore eyes and hypersensitivity to strong light . while fresh green leaves, crushed and wrapped in a thin cloth, are used as an eye mask – in both cases a cooling effect. The plant is also used to help with, skin diseases such as eczema, leprosy, itching, rashes, and sores – all red and inflamed conditions (except maybe for Leprosy, I’m fortunate not to have seen that terrible disease in person).
Gotu Kola is said to move the blood and in inflamed conditions, that would have a local cooling effect. It is used for damp and stagnant tissue states, so moving the blood and fluid can help clear those states.
I find, from experience, that Gotu Kola moves energy downwards and outwards – it is a potent diuretic (relieves damp and stagnation) and calms my mind when it is too full of thoughts and anxiety. I think that is the key to its ability to relieve anxiety and enhance cognition – by moving cluttered energy from the head, it helps clarify thinking and enhances mental focus. This also contributes to relieving anxiety, nervousness and stress; even schizophrenia as it was known in the past. This downward, clearing of mental energy could also point to one of the ‘side effects of Gotu Kola, sleepiness. I suppose it depends on whether you want to be sleepy or not but as sleep is a key pillar of good health, I suppose as much of it that you can get is a good thing unless you’re driving, performing surgery or flying a plane of course!
Gotu kola has a history of being used for many other mental states that can affect one negatively. I think these come from its clearing, detoxifying effects. Such things as amnesia, dementia, failing memory and depression can all be seen as coming from an overfull, congested brain. Of course there are many other possible causes of these but looking at it this way always guides me to making good decisions about using Centella.
Restoring balance to our nervous system helps Gotu kola to relieve many nervous system ailments that can be seen as coming from an exhausted and overwrought nervous system, including convulsion, epilepsy, fatigue, and neuralgia.
It is used to control phlegm and catarrh in the respiratory tract and to treat symptoms of the urinary system including urine retention, painful urination, blood in the urine. It does this through its cooling and diuretic properties and it is also traditionally used as a poison neutralizer, probably through its support of the Liver (which detoxifies many poisons) and digestive tract. That can also point to the use of Gotu Kola in Opium detoxification. All of those conditions benefit from it’s clearing energetic.
Preparing and using Gotu Kola
Synergies: With Sage leaf or Milky oats as a nervous system (cerebral) restorative.
With Ru Xiang (Frankincense) Mo Yao (Myrrh) for traumas. An implied synergy but possible. With Dandelion to clear fluids. With Calendula to restore microcirculation
Throughout Asia, Centella asiatica is used as a green leafy vegetable and its healing properties ingested that way but fresh, green juice is the most widely used way to prepare and take Gotu Kola as a remedy. Crushed leaves can be used as a poultice. It’s such a moist, cooling herb that, like Chickweed or Cleavers, Some tincture it but I would just make a succus from it. Gotu Kola is also great as a fresh or dried herb infusion (with larger doses for acute conditions, smaller for chronic complaints (see why in the contraindications and warnings section above). It can then be used internally or externally as a wash.
In Thailand, a sugary drink called Nam Bai Bua Bok is commonly drunk as an afternoon pick me up. The leaf extracts, together with sugar and honey, are consumed daily as a restorative product to treat colds and fever.
C. asiatica is an important part of Brahma Rasayana (Ayurvedic formulation) , a complex mixture of herbs and fruits in a paste form, taken with warm milk as a cerebral tonic for mental exhaustion, nervous weakness, insomnia, and memory loss.
Other herb pages on Ligaya Garden
We cover a lot of ground on many herb related topics here on our website. There are whole pages devoted to different topics as well as frequent posts. Some of the links are –
