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Gutu Kola / Guta Kola / Gotu / Guto Kola Hydrocotyle asiatica
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Gutu Kola / Guta Kola / Gotu Kola
Centella asiatica or Hydrocotyle asiatica
aka
[1] : Brahmi booti , Perook-Paite, Sleuk tracheakkranh, Vallaarai , Thankuni pata, Sinhala, Asiatic pennywort, Indian pennywort, Luei gong gen, Takip-kohol , Antanan, Manduki, divya, maha aushadhi, Pegagan, Kula kud, Mying Khwar, Bai bua bok , Brahmi , Rau má , Manimuni, Saraswathi plant, Ondelaga, Ekpanni, Timare, Kudakan, Yahong yahong
Gutu Kola is regarded as one of the most spiritual and rejuvenating herbs in Ayurveda and is used to improve meditation
[2] . It is said to develop the crown chakra, the energy center at the top of the head, and to balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which the leaf is said to resemble. Its fan shaped leaves are about the size of a pre-decimal-currency penny - hence its common names Indian pennywort, marsh penny and water pennywort.
Gutu Kola
[1] contains rejuvenating properties and is rich in vitamins A, B,C, D and minerals, calcium, chromium, cobalt, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, sodium, potassium, selenium, silica and zinc.
It is a stimulant, blood purifier and energizer rejuvenator, brain food and energizers the brain cells and preserves them.
It restores worn out bodies and prevents nervous breakdown, mental and physical fatigue. Improves your memory and relieves pain related to arthritis.
It has been used for millennia as a traditional skin medication and is recognised as one of the most important anti-ageing, skin repairing, skin firming and anti-cellulite actives known today[3] .
Guta Kola is known as the elixir of life and for its longevity properties.
There is a saying that I have heard that 3 leaves a day keeps old age away. Guta Kola will keep men virile till old age, and increases sex drive and balances your hormones. It has been used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis. It oxygenates the cells and regulates blood pressure.
Metaphysically it is known to open the crown chakra which is an energy centre at the top of your head that once opened will attune you with your intuition, awareness and higher consciousness.
Gotu Kola is a minor feature in the longevity myth of the Tai Chi Chuan master Li Ching-Yun. He purportedly lived to be 256, due in part to his usage of traditional Chinese herbs including Gotu Kola (from Wikipedia).
You only need to eat 3 leaves per day of this incredible small, but powerful herb.
Other Names used around the world for Gutu Kola
- Indian Pennywort
- Indian water navelwort
- Gotu Kola
- Asiatic Pennywort
- Brahmi
- Chi-hsueh Ts'ao
- man t'ien hsing
- Brahma-manduki
- Luei Gong Gen
- Takip-kohol
- Antanan
- Pegagan
- Pegaga
- vallaarai
- Kula kud
- Bai Bua Bok
- Antanan gede
- asiaticoside,
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- asiatischer wassernabel
- bavilacqua,
- brahmi-buti
- brahmi manduc(a)parni
- calingan rambat,
- Centella coriacea,
- coda-gam
- gagan-gagan
- gang-gagan,
- hydrocolyte asiatique
- idrocotyle,
- kaki kuda
- kaki kuta
- kerok batok
- kos tekosan
- lui gong gen,
- marsh penny
- pagaga
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- panegowan
- papaiduh
- pegagan
- pepiduh
- piduh
- puhe beta
- rending
- sheep rot
- talepetrako
- tete kadho
- tete karo
- thankuni
- thick-leaved pennywort,
- tsubo-kusa
- tungchian
- tungke-tunfke
- water pennyrot
- white rot.
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An anti-aging herb - tonic and revitaliser for the memory and libido
the Longevity Herb
Gutu Kola is probably best known for its ability to prolong active life. Li Ching-Yuen
[4] who died in May 6,1933 was reputed to be 256 years old, having outlived 23 wives. Professor Li
[5] , at the age of 200 years still gave courses of lectures for 28 weeks at a time, each lecture on longevity lasting 3 hours, at a Chinese University. Herbs he recommended for longevity, most highly, were gotu kola and ginseng.
 Bai Bua Bok is a green herb used to make health tea. You'll see the ice tea sold in many street markets across Thailand
[6] , it's the green tea also called 'Gotu Cola'.
A claimed cure for cancer, and sold as a health tea drink, it actually has quite a pleasant herb like flavour and goods source of vitamins when fresh. The herb can also be eaten raw, and is eaten with chillie paste.
Gutu Kola is often called the “Fountain of youth herb” used for treating these conditions
[7] [8] [9] [10] [5] [11] [12] [13]
- AIDS
- Arthritis
- Bowel complaints
- Bowel disorders
- Cellulite
- Cirrhosis
- Convulsions
- Eczema
- Elephantiasis
- Epilepsy
- Fever
- Haemorrhoids
- Hair loss
- Hypochondria
- Ichthyosis
- Immune system
- Insanity
- Leprosy
- Mental function
- Minor burns
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- Nervous disorders
- Poultice for syphilitic ulcers
- Psoriasis
- Respiratory tract infection
- Rheumatism
- Scars
- Scleroderma
- Senility
- Skin disease
- Skin ulcers
- Stuttering
- Tetanus
- Tremors, twitching muscles
- Uterine Cancer
- Varicose veins
- venereal diseases
- Venous insufficiency
- Wound healing
- Wounds
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Contra-indications: Gotu Kola is generally well tolerated when taken internally
[8] . These side effects
[9] - headache, stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, and extreme drowsiness - can tend to happen with high doses of gotu kola. People with liver disease, or who use medications that affect the liver, should not take gotu kola.
Major medicinal actions of Gutu Kola [14]
Tincture
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- analgesic
- anesthetic
- anthelmintic
- antiaging
- antibacterial
- anticancer
- antidepressant
- antidiabetic
- antihypertensive
- antiinflammatory
- antileukemic
- antimalarial
- antioxidant
- antipruritic
- antipyretic
- antirheumatic
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- antiseptic
- antispasmodic
- antitumor
- antitussive
- antiulcerogenic
- antiviral
- ascorbic-acid
- astringent
- beta-carotene
- choleretic
- cosmetic
- demulcent
- detoxicant
- diuretic
- emetic
- expectorant
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- febrifuge
- fungicidal
- hypotensive
- kaempferol
- laxative
- linoleic-acid
- niacin
- riboflavin
- rubefacient
- saponin
- sedative
- stimulant
- thiamin
- vulnerary
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That is a lot of health-maintaining activity in just one plant.
However there is more - here are other actions
[14] attributed to the constituents found in Gutu Kola. Of course not all of these are considered major actions of Gutu Kola, however the list does demonstrate just how comprehensive Gutu Kola’s health maintaining abilities are.
Active constituents found in Gutu Kola [14]
Tincture
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- aluminum ( Leaf 2,060 ppm )
- ascorbic-acid ( Leaf 40 - 374 ppm )
- asiatic-acid
- asiaticoside ( Plant 700 - 1,200 ppm )
- aspartic-acid
- beta-carotene ( Leaf 66 - 615 ppm )
- beta-elemene
- beta-sitosterol
- betulinic-acid ( Plant 1,100 ppm )
- brahminoside ( Plant 1,600 ppm )
- brahmoside ( Plant 3,700 ppm )
- calcium ( Leaf 1,700 - 15,888 ppm )
- campesterol
- camphor
- chromium ( Leaf 10 ppm )
- cobalt ( Leaf 73 ppm )
- elaidic-acid
- fiber ( Leaf 20,000 - 187,000 ppm )
- germacrene-d
- glucose
- glutamic-acid
- glycine
- inositol
- iron ( Leaf 31 - 290 ppm )
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- lignoceric-acid
- linoleic-acid
- madecassoside
- magnesium ( Leaf 3,200 ppm )
- manganese ( Leaf 277 ppm )
- methanol
- niacin
- oleic-acid
- oxyasiaticoside
- palmitic-acid
- pectin
- phosphorus ( Leaf 300 - 2,804 ppm )
- potassium ( Leaf 4,140 - 38,693 ppm )
- raffinose
- riboflavin ( Leaf 1.4 - 13 ppm )
- selenium
- silicon ( Leaf 140 ppm )
- sodium ( Leaf 1,040 ppm )
- stearic-acid
- stigmasterol ( Plant 40 ppm )
- thiamin ( Leaf 1.5 - 14 ppm )
- tin ( Leaf 12 ppm )
- trans-beta-farnesene
- zinc ( Bark 34 ppm )
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Is it Safe for me to take Gutu Kola Tincture? If you have any concerns or apprehensions please use our free Herbal Tincture enquiry service so that we can make sure that what you want is completely safe for your situation or condition.
We especially encourage you to get in touch if you have any of the following health problems or conditions:
- An enlarged prostate gland
- Are preganant or breast-feeding
- Blood clotting problems
- Cancer
- Diabetes
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- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Immune system problems
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- Liver problems
- Psychiatric problems
- Parkinson's disease
- Stroke
- Thyroid problems
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You have two options when you purchase Gutu Kola tincture:
- For external use which you can apply externally to the soles of your feet or topically on an external condition - you can purchase these without a consultation.
- For internal use. If you wish to take it internally because of the potency of these tinctures you need to be sure they will not cause complications with an existing health condition or prescribed drugs you may be taking.
Gutu Kola tincture
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If you are in any doubt about the possibility Gutu Kola tincture causing complications with prescription drugs or a medical condition you may have please get in touch so that we can advise you on the suitability of a particular tincture.
Especially if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
You can have an online consultation or visit our clinic for a thorough consultation if you wish to purchase our potent tinctures for internal use.
There are fewer concerns when using Gutu Kola tincture externally and our many years of experience has shown that the tincture is just as effective being applied into the soles of the feet or applied
topically
on external conditions where they will be absorbed into your system.
Our clients who have come for a consultation use the same tincture internally and we recommend they take half an eyedropper (about 1.5ml) of herbal tincture in a small glass of water three times per day for adults and a quarter of an eyedropper in a small glass of water for children.
Gutu Kola tincture is a potent liquid extract made from organic Gutu Kola. It is a concentrated way of getting herbal medicine into your body easily especially applying them to the soles of your feet. Once a tincture is prepared, it has an extremely long shelf life. Tinctures should be kept in a cool, dark cupboard to maintain their potency.
If you are on any prescribed medication we strongly advise you to use our free Herbal Tincture enquiry service to make sure that the medication and potent Gutu Kola tincture are compatible.
making medicine for internal use
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How to Use Gutu Kola Tincture internally
How do I prepare my Gutu Kola Tincture?
Just add the recommended dosage - which is usually 1.5ml or one eyedropperfull - to a glass of drinking water or any other cold drink.
Then drink it.
When should I drink my Gutu Kola Tincture?
For best absorption, consume herbal tinctures 30 minutes or more before meals or drinking other liquids to avoid diluting it while it is in your digestive tract.
How to Use our Tinctures externally
how to apply a tincture to the soles of your feet
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If you are treating an external condition - such as a skin infection - then simply apply the tincture directly to the site using the eyedropper or a suitable swab.
If you are treating an internal condition then the best way to get the tincture into your body is through the soles of your feet. The skin is a highly absorptive organ and the feet have the reflexology facility which helps get the healing properties of the herbs right to the place inside you where they will do the most good.
If you don't have someone to do it for you, the easiest way we've found is to apply it sitting down. Rest one foot on your other leg's thigh (use a towel to make sure the tincture doesn't drip on your furniture or clothes), squirt a small amount of tincture onto the palm of one hand (about 1.5ml or half an eyedropper), rub it gently into the sole of your foot. In most cases you will find it has been absorbed within 30 seconds or so - you'll know when your foot feels dry. Then do the same to your other foot and the treatment is complete.
Gutu Kola history
Crop of Gutu Kola
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Gotu Kola has been used as a medicine in the Ayurvedic tradition of India for thousands of years[2] and is also one of the largest cultivated crops
[15] which thrives under non-industrialised farming conditions.
While popularly used as a food source in the form of leafy greens within Bangladesh, Thailand and Sri Lanka, it also has been internationally recognized within many countries' pharmacopoeias and has been considered an herb or natural medicine in the western world since the late 1800s.
Such references seem to be oblivious to Gutu Kolas milennia of use with the Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese traditions where its documented use goes back at least 2000 years
[16].
Hydrocotyle asiatica
L UMBELLIFERAE Indian Pennywort Centella /
Indian Water Navel Wort
Indian Pennywort was employed traditionally in the Indian and African continents as an important treatment of leprosy, and modern research has now shown that the plant does possess some action against the leprosy bacteria. The herb is called brahrni in the Indian Ayurvedic medical system which still employs it. In Europe it was last mentioned in the French Pharmacopoeia of 1884. Hydrocoyle is attributed with many other medicinal properties and one which has recently attracted attention is its supposed general beneficial tonic effect; this, however, remains to be proved.
Description Slender trailing umbelliferous plant with reddish prostrate stems, rooting at the nodes, from which also arise 1 -3 petioles to 15 cul tall bearing glabrous, entire, or crenate, cupped, orbi c u lar-reni form leaves, 7-15 cm long. Flower-heads bear 3 or 6 reddish, sessile flowers.
Distribution Indigenous to subtropical zones, such as India, Ceylon, southern Africa, southern United States, Malaysia. Also found in eastern Europe. On marshy sites to a 6oo m altitude.
Cultivation Wild plant.
Uses (fresh or dried plant) Diuretic; tonic; purgative.
Constituents A heteroside (saponoside), asiaticoside, which is antibiotic and also assists in the formation of scar tissue; triterpene acids, including indocentoic acid; a glycoside, indocentelloside; an alkaloid, hydrocotylin; resin; pectic acid; vitamin C; a bitter compound, vellarin; tannin (9%) .1 sugars; volatile oil.
Used in India and Africa for 'blood-purifying' purposes in venereal conditions and tuberculosis. The active principle, asiaticoside, appears to exert a direct effect on the bacterium (Mycobacterium leprae) involved in leprosy (possibly by dissolving the protective waxy coat around the bacterium), and also assists in scar healing - for which purpose it is used in ointments. Also ffirmerly used in fevers, rheumatism and gastric complaints, including dysentery. There is some evidence it may act as a general tonic.
Used in Africa as a snuff.
Contra- indications POISONOUS. Large doses narcotic, producing vertigo and possibly corria. |
Gutu Kola cultivation
Gutu Kola closeup
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Centella asiatica grows in tropical swampy areas
[1] [17] .
The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other.
It has long-stalked, green, reniform leaves with rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins.
The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles, around 2 cm. The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs.
The flowers are pinkish to red in color, born in small, rounded bunches (umbels) near the surface of the soil. Each flower is partly enclosed in two green bracts. The hermaphrodite flowers are minute in size (less than 3 mm), with 5-6 corolla lobes per flower.
Each flower bears five stamens and two styles. The fruit are densely reticulate, distinguishing it from species of Hydrocotyle which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit.
The crop matures in three months, and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually.
If you want to create an optimum growing environment - here's the word from eHow
[18] :
- Dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the plant's root ball. Chose a site near water or in a boggy area of the yard with poor drainage. Line the hole with an inch of peat moss and 2 inches of compost. The peat will help hold the moisture in the soil and the compost furnishes the rich wetland soil that the plant will need to thrive.
- Backfill half the soil you removed from the hole. Remove the plant from the nursery container and fan out the roots gently. Flood the hole with water until it contains 3 to 4 inches of water. Press the roots of the plant into the muddy soil and then cover with 2 to 3 inches of soil or just enough to cover the roots.
- Press the soil around the area firmly leaving a large depression. Disperse the rest of the soil from the hole elsewhere.
- Water the depression again until it is flooded with water. You will have to flood it daily in the summer to keep the soil soggy. Gotu kola can even be grown in water with its leaves spread out and floating. Do not let the area get dry or the plant will die back, although it will probably regrow if re-hydrated quickly.
- Propagate the plant by cuttings set in damp rich soil or by planting a seed in moist compost. You can collect seeds from the flowers in the summer and save them in a dry tightly sealed container. There are several look-a-like plants so be certain you have the correct one before you attempt any self-healing teas and obtain your doctor's advice.
You can see more information by clicking on the tabs below
middlepath.com.au> Middle Path> Plants> Gutu, Gotu or Guta Kola the herb of rejuvenationReferences
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