GOTU KOLA:
Other Names:
Brahma-Buti, Brahma-Manduki, Centellase, Centella asiatica, Centella Asiática, Centella Asiatique, Centella coriacea, Divya, Gota Kola, Hydrocotyle asiatica, Hydrocotyle Asiatique, Hydrocotyle Indien, Indischer Wassernabel, Indian Pennywort, Ind...
Gotu kola is an herb that is commonly used in Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. The above-ground parts are used to make medicine.
Gotu kola is used to treat bacterial, viral, or parastitic infections such as urinary tract infection (UTI), shingles, leprosy, cholera, dysentery, syphilis, the common cold, influenza, H1N1 (swine) flu, elephantiasis, tuberculosis, and schistosomiasis.
Gotu kola is also used for fatigue, anxiety, depression, psychiatric disorders, Alzheimer's disease, and improving memory and intelligence. Other uses include wound healing, trauma, and circulation problems (venous insufficiency) including varicose veins, and blood clots in the legs.
Some people use gotu kola for sunstroke, tonsillitis, fluid around the lungs (pleurisy), liver disease (hepatitis), jaundice, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), stomach pain, diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers, epilepsy, asthma, “tired blood” (anemia), diabetes, and for helping them live longer.
Some women use gotu kola for preventing pregnancy, absence of menstrual periods, and to arouse sexual desire.
Gotu kola is sometimes applied to the skin for wound healing and reducing scars, includiung stretch marks caused by pregnancy.
Insufficient Evidence for:
• Preventing blood clots in the legs while flying. Gotu kola might help prevent blood clots related to long plane flights. Developing evidence suggests that gotu kola might decrease fluid and improve blood circulation in people traveling on airplanes for more than 3 hours, but it’s not known if this fnding translates into fewer blood clots.
• Increasing circulation in people with diabetes. Taking gotu kola for 6-12 months might help increase circulation and decrease fluid retention in people with diabetes whose small blood vessels have been damaged by their disease.
• Stabilizing "hardening of the arteries" (atherosclerosis). People with atherosclerosis have fatty deposits called plagues along the lining of their blood vessels. There is some evidence that taking gotu kola for 12 months might help “stabilize” these plaques so they are less likely to break off and trigger clot formation, causing a heart attack or stroke.
• Stretch marks associated with pregnancy. Early research suggests that applying a specific mixture of gotu kola, vitamin E, and a collagen compound in a cream (Trofolastin, not available in the U.S.) daily during the last six months of pregnancy might reduce stretch marks. There is also some evidence that another specific mixture of gotu kola, vitamin E, essential fatty acids, hyaluronic acid, elastin, and menthol in an ointment (Verum, not available in the U.S.) might help prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.
• Schistosomiasis. There is some evidence that gotu kola injected by a healthcare provider might help bladder wounds caused by a parasitic infection called schistosomiasis.
• Wound healing. Some evidence suggests that applying gotu kola on the skin might help improve wound healing.
• Psoriasis (a skin condition). Some evidence suggests that applying gotu kola on the skin might help reduce symptoms of psoriasis.
• Fatigue.
• Anxiety.
• Common cold and flu.
• Sunstroke.
• Tonsillitis.
• Urinary tract infection (UTI).
• Hepatitis.
• Jaundice.
• Diarrhea.
• Indigestion.
• Other conditions.
More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of gotu kola for these uses.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Gotu kola is POSSIBLY SAFE in pregnant women when applied to the skin. But don’t take it by mouth. Not enough is known about the safety of taking gotu kola orally. There also isn’t enough known about the safety of using gotu kola during breast-feeding. Avoid using it if you are nursing.
Liver disease: There is concern that gotu kola might cause liver damage. People who already have a liver disease such as hepatitis should avoid using gotu kola. It might make liver problems worse.
Surgery: Gotu kola might cause too much sleepiness if combined with medications used during and after surgery. Stop using gotu kola at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.
Do not take this combination
• Sedative medications (CNS depressants) interacts with GOTU KOLA
Large amounts of gotu kola might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Taking gotu kola along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness.
Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.
