Gotu Kola also known as centella, is a annual plant of the genus, belonging to the family Mackinlayaceae, native to India, Sri Lanka, northern Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea. The herb has been used in traditional medicine to treatnervous disorders, epilepsy, senility, premature aging, etc.
Health Benefits
1. Glycaemic index
In the testing the a significant negative correlation between the GI of Sri Lankan meals and fibre content, including Centella asiatica (gotukola) as its indicating the potential to reduce the GI of meals by incorporating naturally occurring sources of fibre found that that the GI of rice mixed meals may be reduced by including naturally occurring sources of fibre with starchy staples while fulfilling daily dietary fibre requirement of an adult at low cost, according to "Sri Lankan rice mixed meals: effect on glycaemic index and contribution to daily dietary fibre requirement" by Hettiaratchi UP, Ekanayake S, Welihinda J.(1)
2. Hyperglycemia and hypertension
In the determination of the inhibitory potential of selected Malaysian plants, including pegaga (Centella asiatica) against key enzymes related to type 2 diabetes and hypertension, found that In alpha-amylase inhibition assay, the inhibitory potential was highest in pucuk ubi for both hexane (59.22%) and dichloromethane extract (54.15%). Hexane extract of pucuk ubi (95.01%) and dichloromethane extract of kacang botol (38.94%) showed the highest inhibitory potential against alpha-glucosidase, while in ACE inhibition assay, the inhibitory potential was highest in hexane extract of pegaga (48.45%) and dichloromethane extract of pucuk betik (59.77%), according to "In vitro inhibitory potential of selected Malaysian plants against key enzymes involved in hyperglycemia and hypertension" by Loh SP, Hadira O.(2)
3. Locomotor activity
In the investigation of the asiatic acid, a triterpenoids isolated from Centella asiatica and its inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) properties, excitatory post synaptic potential (EPSP) and locomotor activity. found that asiatic acid having an effect on AChE, a selective GABA(B) receptor agonist and no sedative effect on locomotor, according to "Inhibitory effect of asiatic acid on acetylcholinesterase, excitatory post synapticpotential and locomotor activity" by Nasir MN, Abdullah J, Habsah M, Ghani RI, Rammes G.(3)
4. Premature senescence (SIPS)
In the demonstration of the effect of C. asiatica extracts on stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) found that C. asiatica extracts rescued the H(2) O(2) -induced repression of replication in HDFs. Therefore, the findings presented here suggest that C. asiatica extracts might regulate SIPS by preventing repression of DNA replication and mitosis-related gene expression, according to "Centella asiatica extracts modulate hydrogen peroxide-induced senescence in human dermal fibroblasts" by Kim YJ, Cha HJ, Nam KH, Yoon Y, Lee H, An S.(4)
5. Cognitive effects
In the assessment of the role of "Brahmi" (Bocopa monnieri and Centella asiatica) and its effect on the loss of memory, cognitive deficits, impaired mental function found that both plants possess neuroprotective properties, have nootropic activity with therapeutic implications for patients with memory loss. The field has witnessed exciting patent activity with most inventions aiming at either (i) improving the methods of herbal extraction or (ii) enrichment and purification of novel compounds from brahmi or (iii) providing novel synergistic formulations for therapeutics in various human ailments, according to "Exploring the role of "Brahmi" (Bocopa monnieri and Centella asiatica) in brain function and therapy" by Shinomol GK, Muralidhara, Bharath MM.(5)
6. Antibacterial and antifungal properties
In the assessment of 6-benzyladenine (BA) either alone or in combination with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) supplemented in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium at different concentrations produced good quality callus from leaf explants of C. asiatica, indicated that the present investigation reveals that non-embryogenic callus can be turned into embryos and plantlets if cultured on appropriate medium. Furthermore, callus from leaf explant of C. asiatica can be a good source for production of antimicrobial compounds through bioreactor, according to "Regeneration of Centella asiatica plants from non-embryogenic cell lines and evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal properties of regenerated calli and plants" by Bibi Y, Zia M, Nisa S, Habib D, Waheed A, Chaudhary FM.(6)
7. Antioxidant capacity
In the identification of antioxidant effects of C. asiatica was exposed to various fermentations: no fermentation (0 min), partial fermentation (120 min) and full fermentation (24 h). Total phenolic content (TPC) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of C. asiatica, found that C. asiatica herbal teas should be prepared at 100 °C for 10 min to obtain the optimum antioxidant capacity. Multiple brewing steps in C. asiatica herbal tea are encouraged due to the certain amount of antioxidant obtained, according to "Antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of fermented Centella asiatica herbal teas" by Ariffin F, Heong Chew S, Bhupinder K, Karim AA, Huda N.(7)
8. Skin-Protective Activities
In the demonstration of Aqueous extracts of Centella asiatica L. Urban and its skin-Protective effects found that the skin-protective activities of C. asiatica were significantly improved through the nano-encapsulation process. These findings also imply that a crude extract can be used and have the same efficacy as purified compounds, which should reduce the purification process and production costs, according to 'Enhancement of the Skin-Protective Activities of Centella asiatica L. Urban by a Nano-encapsulation Process" by Kwon MC, Choi WY, Seo YC, Kim JS, Yoon CS, Lim HW, Kim HS, Ahn JH, Lee HY.(8)
9. Scleroderma
In the testing Titrated extract of Centella asiatica (TECA)(a drug used in treating systemic scleroderma, is poorly water-soluble) and its effect on systemic scleroderma found that these three TECA micellar formulations prepared with Tween 20 and Tween 85 improved the solubility of TECA and reduced pain following injection, possibly due to the decrease in osmotic pressure. Thus, these micellar formulations composed of optimum ratios of Tween 20 and Tween 85 may have a potential as dosage forms for the intramuscular injection of a poorly water-soluble TECA, according to 'Development of a novel dosage form for intramuscular injection of titrated extract of Centella asiatica in a mixed micellar system" by Kim C, Hwang YY, Chang JY, Choi HG, Lim SJ, Lee MK.(9)
10. Wound healing
In the investigation of Effects of oral and topical administration of an alcoholic extract of C. asiatica on rat dermal wound healing found that the extract treated wounds were found to epithelialise faster and the rate of wound contraction was higher, as compared to control wounds. The results show that C. asiatica produced different actions on the various phases of wound repair, according to "Effects of Centella asiatica extract on dermal wound healing in rats" by Suguna L, Sivakumar P, Chandrakasan G.(10)
11. Prevention of edema and microcirculation alterations
in the evaluation of the effects of TTFCA (total triterpenic fraction of Centella asiatica) microcirculatory alterations associated with edema in passengers travelling for more than 3 hours found that ankle swelling (RAS) and edema were significantly lower in the TTFCA-treated group (p<0.025). The progressive increase in RAS, transcutaneous PCO2, and the decrease in VAR and O2 were linearly associated with flight time (up to 10 hours), according to "Flight microangiopathy in medium- to long-distance flights: prevention of edema and microcirculation alterations with total triterpenic fraction of Centella asiatica" by Cesarone MR, Incandela L, De Sanctis MT, Belcaro G, Geroulakos G, Griffin M, Lennox A, Di Renzo AD, Cacchio M, Bucci M(11)
12. Reproductive health
In the assessment of Centella asiatica and its beneficial effects of on lead-induced oxidative stress and suppressed reproductive performance in male rats found that co-administration of aqueous extracts of C. asiatica to lead exposed rats showed a significant increase in the weights of reproductive organs, reduction in lead-induced oxidative stress in the tissues and improvement in selected reproductive parameters over lead-exposed rats indicating the beneficial role of C. asiatica to counteract lead-induced oxidative stress and to restore the suppressed reproduction in male rats, according to "Protective role of Centella asiatica on lead-induced oxidative stress and suppressed reproductive health in male rats" by
Sainath SB, Meena R, Supriya Ch, Reddy KP, Reddy PS.(12)
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Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in children or if you are pregnant without approval of the related field specialist
2. It may cause allergic effects
3. Overdose may cause nervous tension, such as headache, stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, etc.
4. Gotu Kola may interact with other medication, including water pills, ans sedatives agents
5. Do not use the herb if you have any form of liver diseases
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