Centella asiatica Gotu kola has been used to treat many conditions for thousands of years in India, China, and Indonesia. It was used to heal #wounds, improve #mental #clarity, and treat #skin conditions such as #leprosy and #psoriasis. People use it to treat #respiratory infections, such as #colds.

It has been called "the fountain of life" because legend has it that an ancient Chinese herbalist lived for more than 200 years as a result of taking gotu kola.

Historically, gotu kola has also been used to treat #syphilis, #hepatitis, #stomach #ulcers, mental #fatigue, #epilepsy, #diarrhea, #fever, and #asthma. Today, in the U.S. and Europe gotu kola is most often used to treat #varicose #veins and chronic venous insufficiency, a condition where blood pools in the legs. It is also used in ointments to treat psoriasis and help heal minor #wounds.

Photo thanks to Ushani Thennakoon, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Gotu kola is not the same as kola nut Cola nitida. Unlike kola nut, gotu kola does not have caffeine, and is not a stimulant.