Traditional remedy of Ayurvedic medicine, gotu kola has been successfully used for thousands of years in India to relieve skin problems but not only... Discover in this article the benefits of this plant with many virtues.
Gotu Kola : description botanique
The gotu kola or tiger grass is a small, creeping, semi-aquatic plant of the Apiaceae family. Centella asiatia from its Latin name is native to the tropical and swampy regions of Asia, Africa and South America.
Its characteristic small leaves are rounded from which appear small umbels of greenish flowers.
Gotu Kola : les principaux constituants
Tiger grass contains an aromatic essence, sterols, a bitter principle and saponosides including asiaticoside with soothing, protective and healing properties by promoting collagen synthesis and madecassoside with soothing, anti-redness and anti-desquamation effects.
Gotu kola is the plant of the skin, the brain and the blood capillaries.
Le Gotu Kola et dermatologie
The gotu kola has been traditionally used in India for several millennia to alleviate skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis and other dermatitis and/or dermatosis. Indeed, it helps in cicatrisation while soothing inflammations and promoting tissue regeneration as mentioned above.
In India, it is one of the natural remedies against leprosy that it contains successfully.
Le Gotu Kola et le cerveau
Gotu kola is also used against nervous disorders like epilepsy. It also improves their reflexes and speed of response.
At the same time, in traditional Chinese medicine, the tiger herb is recommended to improve cognitive functions: it promotes learning ability, memory, attention and concentration. It will therefore be very useful in slowing the effects of aging and in times of intense learning.
Moreover, gotu kola is also recommended in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine to fight against anxiety and depression.
Le Gotu Kola et la micro-circulation sanguine
Numerous scientific studies underline the benefits of the herb of the tiger to relieve the disorders of the blood circulation by fluidifying it. Thus, on the one hand the venous return is improved acting on venous insufficiency, heavy legs, varicose veins and other pains due to a bad micro-circulation. And on the other hand, the brain being better irrigated, headaches, migraines and other headaches are relieved.
Les autres domaines d’action du Gotu Kola
In Africa, it is credited with successfully treating bilharzia, which is a parasitic infection common in tropical countries due to a blood-sucking worm.
In Europe, it is consumed in the form of an infusion to relieve cases of rheumatism, lumbago or sciatica thanks to its anti-inflammatory action.
Gotu Kola : comment en consommer ?
You can grow some at home and eat it directly raw in salads. Its flavor is reminiscent of the sweetness of carrots.
Otherwise, you can get it in dried form for your infusions, in mother tincture or in capsules.
The dosage depends on your problematic and your whole natural health protocol. It is therefore to be personalized with your doctor, your pharmacist or your naturopathic doctor according to your current and/or future allopathic, homeopathic or phytotherapic treatments.
However, externally, gotu kola can be used as a poultice to relieve eczema, psoriasis, boils, acne, shallow wounds, cuts, abrasions, superficial burns, irritations ...
Caution:there have been reports of photosensitization following the use of this plant.
For lack of data on this topic, its use is not recommended for pregnant and nursing women and children.
Before any cutaneous application on a large area, make sure to make a test beforehand in the fold of the elbow to check that you are not allergic to it.
The gotu kola is a plant commonly used in traditional Indian pharmacopoeia. It has every interest in being recognized for its curative virtues. However, you must keep in mind that depending on your problem and this, before any self-medication even "green", it is important that you are accompanied by a professional of natural health. Herbal medicine is not a safe medicine.