Gotu Kola

A natural history

Gotu kola is a low, creeping plant of Asia's wetlands that has been treasured for thousands of years across India and China, where it earned the name the herb of longevity. A favorite piece of folklore comes from Sri Lanka, where the plant was a known staple of elephants, and people linked its leaves to the elephant's long life and famously good memory. Whether or not the elephants would agree, the reputation stuck, and gotu kola became one of the most storied tonics in traditional Asian medicine.

Traditionally it was used in two main ways. It was laid on the skin as a poultice for wounds, burns, and stubborn troubles like ulcers and eczema, and it was brewed into a tea or eaten as a fresh green tonic believed to sharpen memory and steady a tired mind. In parts of Southeast Asia that cooling green drink is still made today.

What it does for your skin

Gotu kola's value to skin comes from a group of triterpene compounds: asiaticoside, madecassoside, and the asiatic and madecassic acids. A 2013 review in Advances in Dermatology and Allergology describes these compounds as supporting fibroblast activity and collagen, part of why the herb is associated with the look of firmer, smoother skin.^[1] A 2021 review in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine summarizes laboratory and animal evidence that the same triterpenes help calm inflammatory responses in skin, consistent with its soothing reputation for the look of redness, though the authors note that larger clinical studies are still needed.^[2]

References