Herb library · Herb · Centella asiatica
Gotu kola
A creeping plant of wet tropical ground, eaten as a vegetable and sold for memory and for the veins of the legs. A meta-analysis found no clear effect on thinking; evidence for leg swelling is small. Rare liver injury has been reported.
Serious warning
LiverTox (NIH) lists gotu kola as a probable rare cause of liver injury with jaundice; the published cases resolved within 1 to 2 months of stopping it.
Traditional use
Used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine and eaten as a vegetable and in salads. In Sanskrit it is Brahmi or Mandukaparni, a name it shares with bacopa, and the two are often confused. Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that Hindu physicians regarded the two as alike, giving the fresh leaf juice with milk and licorice powder as a tonic. Traditional uses included minor wounds, skin complaints, poor circulation in the legs and memory. Today it is sold as capsules, powders and skin creams.
Traditional energetics
Ayurveda
Taste (rasa): sweet; potency (virya): cooling. Pharmacographia Indica (1890), vol. 2, p. 107 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Insufficient
Memory and thinking: a 2017 meta-analysis of 11 small randomized trials found no significant difference from placebo in any area of cognitive function. It found small improvements in alertness and anger an hour after a dose, and asks for well-designed trials with standardized extracts.
- Limited
Leg vein problems (chronic venous insufficiency): a 2020 Cochrane review of vein medicines as a group found moderate-certainty evidence that they slightly reduce leg swelling. Only two of its trials used gotu kola, and the reviewers say findings for specific groups are limited.
- Insufficient
Other uses: LiverTox notes that none of the traditional or marketed properties have been proven in controlled trials in people.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteUsually well tolerated in small trials; mild headache, dizziness, bloating, diarrhea and nausea have been reported, often no more than with placebo. Rare allergic reactions have occurred, mostly with creams on the skin.
- ConditionRare liver injury with jaundice has been reported 3 to 8 weeks after starting it. Stop and see a clinician if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or unusual tiredness. People with liver disease should ask first.
- PregnancyNCCIH advises talking with your clinician before using Ayurvedic products while pregnant or nursing.
- NoteSome Ayurvedic preparations include metals. The FDA warns that this makes some Ayurvedic products potentially harmful, and a 2015 survey found high lead or mercury levels in some of the supplements tested.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“The properties of this plant are said to resemble those of Bráhmi (Herpestes Monniera), both being regarded as alterative, tonic, and useful in diseases of the skin, nervous system and blood.”
“Dr. A. Hunter, who tried it in the Madras Leper Hospital, came to the conclusion that it had no claim to consideration as a specific in leprosy”
Sources
- LiverTox: Centella asiatica (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effects of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. on cognitive function and mood related outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2017) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Phlebotonics for venous insufficiency (Cochrane review, 2020) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Ayurvedic Medicine: In Depth (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.