The Nutrition Inkwell

We all know that leafy greens are good for you. Even elephants know this.  A part of an elephants diet is Gotu kola, a small green round leaved plant that has been around since prehistoric times. That is one ancient plant.

You may have heard it by some of its other names. Gotu kola is also known as hydrocotyle, asiatica, luei gong gen, lien tien thao, bai bua bok,  and pennywart.

Gotu kola is much more than just elephant food. For many years this herb has been used in Asia. Both the leaves and the stem have medicinal value.  The leaves can be eaten raw (like the elephants do!) or cooked.

It may not be very easy to find becayse the plant is indigenous to places like Southeast Asia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, Central America, South America and is warm and wet areas of the Southern United States.

So whats in this plant that makes it good for you? Well like most herbs, Gotu kola is a complex plant with many different chemicals.  It includes:

• asiatic acid
• madecassic acid
• terminolic acid
• bayogenin
• docosyl ferulates
• d-gulonic acid
• centellin
• asiaticin
• cadiyenol
• asiaticoside
• madecassoside
• asiaticoside-B
• castilliferol
• castillicetin
• isochlorogenic acid
• centellasaponins B, C, and D.

In Asia Gotu kola is used for wound healing and to help heal burns. It has also been tested on mice and was concluded that the madecassoside in the Gota kola substantially prevented arthritis  and protected join destruction. It is also being looked into as a possible alternative to steroid creams when treating psoriasis. There are studies to see if it can be used to help repair damaged nerve cells and MIT in Cambridge, Mass is looking into anticancer effects it may have.  It can also be used to help a athletes body recover from hard running or cycling or any other strenuous activity.

If eating raw leaves is not your kind cup of tea, then you can have…. a cup of tea. You can find Gotu kola in tea form. You can also find it in pill form.

So take a lesson from the elephants!