Last updated July 12, 2023.
Edited and medically reviewed by Patrick Alban, DC. Written by Deane Alban.
Gotu kola is a relaxant herb with a long history as a natural remedy for conditions affecting mental health. Learn how it helps with anxiety, stress, and more.
Gotu kola is a popular herbal remedy in Asia that most of us in the West have gotten all wrong.
The word “kola” makes many people think that it contains caffeine, but, in fact, gotu kola is a relaxant that contains no caffeine at all.
Additionally, it’s sometimes confused with another herbal remedy that shares the same common name.
In this article, we’ll review some of the many claims of gotu kola as a healing herb — focusing on brain and emotional health — that are now supported by science.
The Traditional Benefits of Gotu Kola
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is a perennial groundcover plant that’s a member of the same plant family as parsley and carrots.
It grows abundantly in the wetlands of Asia, South Africa, and Australia.
Gotu kola is an important natural remedy in traditional Chinese, Indonesian, and Indian Ayurvedic medicine; its health benefits are legendary.
In traditional Chinese medicine, gotu kola is believed to promote longevity and is considered a potent elixir of life.
In fact, its Chinese name means “fountain of youth.”
Legend has it that herbalist and martial arts master Li Ching-Yuen lived to be 200 years old (more or less) in part due to the longevity-promoting benefits of gotu kola.
A Sri Lankan legend says that elephants live exceptionally long lives and have good memories because they eat lots of gotu kola.
Gotu kola has a particularly long list of traditional uses.
" In human studies, gotu kola increased calmness, contentedness, and alertness and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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It has been used to treat a variety of brain-related disorders, including mental fatigue, anxiety, depression, memory loss, and insomnia.
It has also been used to treat a wide variety of physical ailments, including wounds, eczema, psoriasis, diarrhea, ulcers, fever, hepatitis, snake bites, toxic mushrooms, and arsenic poisoning.
Gotu Kola: Don’t Confuse It With . . .
Gotu kola is often confused with kola nut (Cola nitida), a caffeine-containing member of the cocoa family used to flavor cola soft drinks.
Because the names are so similar, it’s often assumed that gotu kola is related to the kola nut, but it’s not.
To further add to the confusion, gotu kola is sometimes added to energy drinks.
This reinforces the erroneous belief that gotu kola is a source of caffeine and an energy booster when, in fact, it’s a caffeine-free relaxant.
Two popular common names for gotu kola are Asian pennywort and Indian pennywort.
But there are many plants called pennywort that are totally unrelated to gotu kola, including an invasive North American lawn weed.
Another common name for gotu kola is brahmi, a name shared by bacopa (Bacopa monnieri), another Ayurvedic remedy.
Not only do they share a common name, but they also share similar properties — both are safe and effective cognitive enhancers.
Gotu kola and bacopa are so similar that they are sometimes used interchangeably.
7 Evidence-Based Brain Benefits of Gotu Kola
Though its mental health benefits are known, gotu kola is most often used to treat varicose veins today.
Its main active ingredients are compounds known as triterpenes that increase the strength and volume of collagen, an important building block of skin.
Gotu kola is anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, insecticidal, and antifungal — all beneficial properties for the health of your skin.
These properties make topical application useful for minor wound healing, burns, psoriasis, stretch marks, scars, cellulite, and scleroderma.
But the proven benefits of gotu kola are more than skin deep.
Gotu kola acts like a traditional brain tonic, offering many neuroprotective and mental health benefits.
1. Gotu Kola Stimulates Growth of New Brain Cells
Gotu kola activates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that acts as fertilizer for the brain, encouraging new brain cell formation.
In this way, it works similarly to the “other brahmi,” bacopa.
It takes a few weeks for gotu kola’s effects to kick in and it seems to work by encouraging dendrite branching, increasing brain plasticity, and facilitating communication between brain cells.
Gotu kola also increases nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that stimulates the growth of new nerve cells and safeguards existing ones.
2. Gotu Kola Increases Blood Flow
Gotu kola is well regarded for its ability to improve circulation.
This is important because maintaining optimal brain circulation is one of the most important things you can do to keep your brain healthy and fit.
A steady and sufficient flow of blood to the brain delivers life-giving oxygen and nutrients and removes toxins and metabolic waste.
3. Gotu Kola Protects the Brain From Damage
Most plants have some antioxidant capacity, but gotu kola excels as a neuroprotective antioxidant.
Gotu kola protects the brain from damage incurred by the assaults of everyday life.
Studies show that gotu kola protects the brain from neurotoxins like lead, arsenic, aluminum, and glutamate.
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Glutamate is an important neurotransmitter, but, in excess, it actually kills brain cells.
Glutamate is also found in some foods, especially those that contain added monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Gotu kola protects the brain from the harmful effects of free radicals.
Free radical damage, also known as oxidative stress, occurs when unattached oxygen molecules attack cells, in much the same way that these molecules attack metal, causing it to rust.
Antioxidants neutralize damaging free radicals, rendering them harmless.
4. Gotu Kola Alleviates Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
By bringing brain chemicals into balance, gotu kola can help alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression.
Gotu kola increases levels of the feel-good neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, and reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Additionally, gotu kola protects the brain from inflammation.
Chronic inflammation of the brain is now thought to be an underlying cause of depression.
In human studies, gotu kola increased calmness, contentedness, and alertness and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
It has been shown to lower symptoms of anxiety and stress in those with generalized anxiety disorder.
Gotu kola significantly reduces the startle response caused by sudden noises within 30-60 minutes after ingestion.
Since the acoustic startle response is a reliable way to tell if someone is anxious, this is another indicator that this herb may be helpful for treating anxiety.
5. Gotu Kola Helps You Sleep
Getting adequate sleep is one of the best things you can do for your brain.
Researchers have found that one bad night of sleep can impair your mental faculties as much as being drunk.
Chronic insomnia is a common modern malady, but the usual solution, sleep medication, is a bad idea since it robs you of restorative sleep and can cause significant memory loss.
Gotu kola has been used as a natural sleep aid for thousands of years.
Traditionally, gotu kola tea is sweetened with a little honey as an Ayurvedic remedy for insomnia.
6. Gotu Kola Improves Memory and Mood in Alzheimer’s Patients
Gotu kola can enhance mood and cognition in both healthy seniors and those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s patients have significantly reduced levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter strongly associated with memory and learning.
Alzheimer’s drugs like Aricept work by blocking the breakdown of acetylcholine.
Triterpenes, steroid precursors found in gotu kola, are beneficial for Alzheimer’s in two ways.
Much like Aricept, these compounds inhibit the breakdown of acetylcholine.
They also prevent the formation of amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
7. Vitamin E + Gotu Kola: A Brain-Enhancing Duo
Vitamin E is known mostly as a heart-healthy vitamin, but it’s equally important for your brain.
This fat-soluble vitamin slows down age-related mental decline, particularly when paired with vitamin C.
When taken together, “E + C” is linked to memory improvement and a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Gotu kola shows similar synergistic effects with vitamin E, making “E + gotu kola” another powerful brain-enhancing combination.
How to Use Gotu Kola
Few herbal remedies are used as food because, frankly, they don’t taste very good!
But that’s not the case with gotu kola.
This mild-tasting plant has the texture and appearance of watercress and a taste similar to parsley.
It’s a common ingredient in many Asian cuisines in which it’s added to salads, rice, and curry dishes.
In the US, it’s unlikely that you’ll find gotu kola at your local grocery store, but you can buy seeds or plants and grow your own.
If you live in a warm, moist climate, you can grow it as a perennial groundcover.
If not, you can grow gotu kola in a pot like you’d grow any herb.
Gotu Kola Tea
You can also find an assortment of gotu kola teas, as either a single-ingredient tea or in combination with other herbs.
Some brain-healthy teas contain gotu kola with ginkgo, another important brain-enhancing herb.
Sometimes it’s added to holy basil (Ocimum sanctum), a highly regarded adaptogenic herb also known as tulsi.
Mt. Sinai Health Library recommends drinking 3 cups of gotu kola tea per day to benefit a variety of health conditions.
Gotu Kola Supplement Dosages
You certainly can eat gotu kola, but for most of us, it’s a lot easier and more convenient to take it as a supplement.
Gotu kola supplements are sold in the form of capsules, tablets, and tinctures.
The generally recommended dosage is 60 mg, two to three times per day.
The dosage for reducing anxiety is 500 mg taken twice per day.
Gotu Kola Side Effects and Interactions
Gotu kola has been consumed as both food and tea by millions of people for thousands of years and is considered very safe.
Most side effects are very minor, usually an upset stomach or headache.
However, there are a few precautions to take with gotu kola supplements.
It’s recommended that you should not mix gotu kola with antidepressant, anti-anxiety, or seizure medications.
When taken together, any of these combinations can make you too drowsy.
This can also be the case with natural relaxing remedies, including 5-HTP, kava, St. John’s wort, and valerian.
Gotu kola should be used with caution by anyone with a history of liver problems or skin cancer.
Gotu kola supplements should not be given to children or pregnant or breastfeeding women since there’s little reliable information available about their safety in these situations.
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