Gotu kola , Centella asiatica , Marsh-Pennywort (Hydrocotyle verticillata)
While researching the internet for Centella asiatica, by its common name Gotu kola, I was surprised to see many websites displaying pictures of Hydrocotyle verticillata and captioning them as Gotu kola.
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) and Marsh-Pennywort (Hydrocotyle verticillata) , are close relatives as both belong to the carrot family (Apiaceae) but they have their differences and cannot be used interchangeably. Yesterday we studied the Marsh-Pennywort (Hydrocotyle verticillata) so you are already familiar with it. Today's post is about Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) so we can familiarize with both these plants and know them better.
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) has been legendary in India and China for more than 2,000 years, where it’s considered one of the best herbs for promoting clarity, focus, and a peaceful, calm nature. This low-growing member of the carrot family is also known as “brahmi” or “Mandukaparni,” and is a tonic remedy for memory loss, stress, worry, and foggy thinking. In Ayurvedic medicine, Gotu kola is used to increase memory, concentration, and comprehension. In the Himalayas, yogis use Gotu kola as a meditation aid. Contemporary herbalists also use Gotu kola as a wound healer, diuretic, antioxidant, nerve tonic, and antibacterial. Folklore tells us that daily ingestion of Gotu kola keeps the mind fresh and promotes longevity and vitality. In Southeast Asia, Gotu kola has long been credited as the source of elephants’ long life spans and exceptional memories.
Gotu kola, also known as Indian pennywort, is a herbaceous, perennial native to wetlands in India, China, Japan, Australia & New Zealand. It is used as a culinary vegetable and as a medicinal herb. It grows in temperate and tropical swampy areas. The herbaceous stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color and bear bean-shaped leaves with crenate margins and palmately netted veins. The flowers are white or crimson in color, borne in small, rounded umbels. Each tiny flower(less than 3 mm in size) with 5-6 petals, is partly enclosed in two green bracts. The fruit are densely reticulate, distinguishing it from species of Hydrocotyle which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit.
In Burmese cuisine, raw Indian pennywort is used as the main constituent in a salad mixed with onions, crushed peanuts, bean powder and seasoned with lime juice. Centella is used as a leafy green in Sri Lankan cuisine, being the predominantly locally available leafy green, where it is called Gotu kola. The fruit bearing structures are discarded and not incorporated into the cuisine, due to their intense bitter taste.
-Medicinally it is used as a herb to promote relaxation and alertness.
-A traditional remedy for wounds and injuries both internally and topically
-For treatment of skin disorders, psoriasis and leprosy
For treatment of varicose veins
-As an aid to digestion and as a cooling agent
SIDE-EFFECTS & CAUTION
However, a small number of people have reported contact dermatitis after topical use of the herb; if you have sensitive skin, a skin-patch test might be advantageous.
Consuming the plant or its decoction acts as a mild sedative, so it may lead to drowsiness.
Excessive consumption over prolonged time may affect the liver.
Scientific name: Centella asiatica
Common names: Gotu kola
Family: Apiaceae
Native Distribution: India, China, Japan, Australia
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