Gotu kola

Plant Description

Gotu kola is a perennial plant native to India, Japan, China, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the South Pacific. A member of the parsley family, it has no taste or smell. It thrives in and around water. It has small fan-shaped green leaves with white or light purple-to-pink flowers and small oval fruit. The leaves and stems of the gotu kola plant are used as medicine.

Medicinal Uses and Indications

Treatment

Venous insufficiency and varicose veins

When blood vessels lose their elasticity, blood pools in the legs and fluid leaks out of the blood vessels. That causes the legs to swell (venous insufficiency). Several small studies suggest gotu kola may help reduce swelling and improve blood flow. In a study of 94 people with venous insufficiency, those who took gotu kola saw their symptoms improve compared to those who took a placebo.

One study also found that people who took gotu kola before flying had less ankle and leg swelling than those who did not take it.

Wound healing and skin lesions

Gotu kola has chemicals called triterpenoids. In animal and lab studies, these compounds seem to help heal wounds. For example, some studies suggest that triterpenoids strengthen the skin, boost antioxidants in wounds, and increase blood supply to the area. Based on these findings, gotu kola has been applied to the skin, or used topically, for minor burns, psoriasis, preventing scars after surgery, and preventing or reducing stretch marks.

You can find gotu kola in many creams for wound healing. Ask your health care provider if one is right for you.

Dosage and Administration

Gotu kola is available in teas and as dried herbs, tinctures, capsules, tablets, and ointments. Products should be stored in a cool, dry place and used before the expiration date on the label.

Precautions

Gotu kola has been used in some studies that lasted up to one year. However, gotu kola has the potential to be harmful to the liver. It is best not to use gotu kola for more than 6 weeks without talking to your doctor. You may need to take a 2-week break before taking the herb again.

People with liver disease, or who take medications that affect the liver, should not take gotu kola. Ask your doctor if you take any prescription medications, or often take over-the-counter pain relievers.

If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant it is best to avoid Gotu Kola.

Side Effects

Side effects are rare but may include skin allergy and burning sensations with external use, headache, stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, and extreme drowsiness. These tend to happen with high doses of gotu kola. Some studies suggest Gotu Kola can interfere with a person's ability to get pregnant, and that it may stimulate uterine contractions making it possibly unsafe to use during pregnancy.

Interactions and Depletions

Gotu kola may interact with the following medications:

Drugs that affect the liver: Gotu kola contains things that may hurt a person's liver, and taking it along with some other medications that also can harm the liver may cause liver damage.

Diabetes medications: In animal studies, gotu kola seems to lower blood sugar levels. People with diabetes should not take gotu kola without first talking to their doctor.

Diuretics (water pills): Gotu kola seems to act like a diuretic, meaning it helps the body get rid of excess fluid. Taking diuretic medications and gotu kola could cause your body to lose too much fluid, upsetting the balance of electrolytes you need. The same is true of taking gotu kola with herbs that have diuretic effects, such as green tea, astragalus, or gingko.

Sedatives: Because gotu kola acts like a sedative, it might make some drugs taken for anxiety or insomnia stronger. The same is true for herbs taken for anxiety or insomnia, such as valerian.

Supporting Research

Aronson JK. Apiaceae. In: Aronson JK, ed. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. 16th ed. Waltham, MA: Elsevier B.V.; 2016:651-653.

Arribas-López E, Zand N, Ojo O, Snowden MJ, Kochhar T. A systematic review of the effect of Centella asiatica on wound healing. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(6):3266. PMID: 35328954 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8956065/.

Ganie IB, Ahmad Z, Shahzad A,. Biotechnological intervention and secondary metabolite production in Centella asiatica L. Plants (Basel). 2022;11(21):2928.. PMID: 36365380 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9656378/.

Gray NE, Alcazar Magana A, Lak P, et al. Centella asiatica - phytochemistry and mechanisms of neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement. Phytochem Rev. 2018 Feb;17(1):161-194. PMID: 31736679 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6857646/.

Kruzel TA. Kidney disease. In: Pizzorno JE, Murray MT, eds. Textbook of Natural Medicine. 5th ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2021:chap 190.

Murray MT, Nowicki J. Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola). In: Pizzorno JE, Murray MT, eds. Textbook of Natural Medicine. 5th ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2021:chap 64.

Murray MT, Nowicki J. Varicose veins. In: Pizzorno JE, Murray MT, eds. Textbook of Natural Medicine. 5th ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2021:chap 22.

Nataraj M, Carmelin DS, Geetha Sravanthy P, Saravanan M. Evaluation of antibacterial efficacy of Centella asiatica-mediated selenium oxide nanoparticles against multidrug-resistant upper respiratory isolates. Cureus. 2024 ;16(4):e58350. PMID: 38756255 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11096689/.

Patterson JW. Disorders of collagen. In: Patterson JW, ed. Weedon’s Skin Pathology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Limited; 2025:chap 12.

Sabaragamuwa R, Perera CO. Total triterpenes, polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of bioactive phytochemicals of Centella asiatica by different extraction techniques. Foods. 2023;12(21):3972. PMID: 37959090 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10647812/.

Sun B, Wu L, Wu Y, et al. Therapeutic potential of Centella asiatica and its triterpenes: a review. Front Pharmacol. 2020; 11:568032. PMID: 33013406 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7498642/.

Woo SM, Davis WD, Aggarwal S, Clinton JW, Kiparizoska S, Lewis JH. Herbal and dietary supplement induced liver injury: highlights from the recent literature. World J Hepatol. 2021;13(9):1019-1041.PMID: 34630872 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8473494/.