herbal ally series – Kotu kola –  A Leader’s Ally for Clarity, Calm & Brain Resilience

[00:00:02]:
So gotu kola is one of those herbs that really does have deep cultural roots. In Ayurveda, it’s considered a sattvic herb. Calming, clarifying and good for insight. Yogis have used it to help with meditation, for example. In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s linked with the liver and the kidney meridians. So it’s used for clearing heat and for promoting longevity. And it’s earned names like the herb of longevity and tiger herb. I love this.

[00:00:30]:
It’s called tiger herb because tigers were seen rolling in it to heal their wounds. Clever tigers, eh? Now, energetically, gotu kola is a cooling and slightly bitter herb. So it’s great for people who run hot, they feel restless or they’re prone to overthinking skin flare ups or inflammation. And it’s especially helpful when your nervous system is depleted but you’re still pushing through. From a phytochemical plant perspective, gotu kola has an abundance of triterpenoid saponins, Asiatoside, madecassoside and Asiatic acid. And these have anti inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. So they help to keep your blood vessels strong, they reduce inflammation and they protect your brain, your spinal cord and the nerve network from oxidative strength stress. So from a gardening perspective, gotu kola is a small creeping plant that’s a member of the Parsni family.

[00:01:35]:
So from a botanical perspective, gotu kola is a small creeping plant that’s a member of the parsley family. It’s native to wetlands across Asia and Africa, so it likes it damp. I remember seeing it in the salad section when I was shopping in a supermarket in Kuala Lumpur. So it’s also used as a food. I mean, seriously, how cool is that? Imagine having that as your salad every day. It’s used in Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine and Western herbal medicine as well. Now in Ayurveda it’s referred to as a medya rasayana. So that’s a herb for rejuvenating the mind.

[00:02:15]:
It helps to clear the fog and it nourishes your ability to think, to focus and to remember. And I love this in relation to the modern research that’s coming out as well. In Western herbal medicine, we tend to use gotu kola mainly as a nervine tonic, a mild adaptogen and for connective tissue support. But traditionally it’s been used as an anxiolytic brain tonic and nervine, an antispasmodic, antibacterial and anti inflammatory. I Mean, that’s just showing you how wide its reach can be right now, nervines and adaptogens often get grouped together, but they serve very different purposes. Nerveines directly support your nervous system. They can calm, they can nourish, or they can tone it, depending on the type. And gotu kola is a nervine tonic, so this means it strengthens your nervous system resilience over time.

[00:03:09]:
Adaptogens, on the other hand, work at the level of the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal, or HPA axis. And they work to improve the body’s ability to adapt to physical, mental and emotional stress. So goja kola is considered to be a mild adaptogen because of its ability to support stress recovery without overstimulating your system. So let’s walk through what the modern research is telling us. So, gotu kola plays a significant role in wound healing and tissue regeneration, but particularly through its effects on collagen synthesis. Now, collagen is a critical structural protein that’s found in skin, ligaments, tendons and blood vessels. Several triterpenoid saponins found in gotu kola, especially that asiaticoside and the madecassoside, stimulate fibroblast proliferation and they increase collagen synthesis. So why does this matter? Well, it leads to improved wound tensile strength, which simply means that the repaired tissue is actually stronger and less likely to reopen.

[00:04:17]:
It also supports faster epithelialization, so it helps new skin cells to form more quickly over a wound. And it enhances microcirculation so nutrient rich blood reaches that damaged area to fuel healing. I’m going to cough. See? Excuse me. Studies in both animal models and human topical applications show that gotu kola extracts can accelerate wound closure. They reduce inflammation and support post surgical scar minimization. Its collagen boosting properties are also why you’ll see it appearing in a lot of beauty and skin care products. It’s found to improve firmness, reduce fine lines and help the skin to recover from environmental stresses.

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Gotu kola reduces reflexive anxiety. So in a, for example, in a double blind placebo controlled study that was published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, this one was in the year 2000, 40 healthy adults were given a single 12 gramme dose of GOTU kola. The researchers measured their acoustic startle response. Now, this is a marker of heightened anxiety and it shows us how strongly your body jumps or tenses when you’re startled. Now, this study reported a significant reduction in that response when compared to placebo. And it also found that this could be achieved without experiencing a sedating effect. Excuse me. Right.

[00:06:04]:
A bit of water. So, in summary, it meant that participants could stay calmer when something unexpected happened. Now, the researchers believe that the mechanism of actions associated with the modulation of choleocytokinin or CCK pathways. Say that. Again, the researchers believe that the mechanism of action is associated with the modulation of choleocystokinin pathways or CCK pathways. And these regulate the fear and startle responses in your brain. So it’s almost like adjusting the brain’s alarm system so it doesn’t go off quite, quite so easily. Gotu kola also improves generalised anxiety and perceived stress.

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So, for example, in a 60 day open label study, this one was a 2010 and it was reported in the Pharmaceutical Biologic, and it was in a 60 day open label study, this one was reported in 2010 in Pharmaceutical Biology. 33 adults took 500 milligrammes of a 70% hydroethanolic gotu kola extract and they took it twice a day. So by day 60, they had experienced a 26% reduction in anxiety, a 23% reduction in perceived stress and an almost 28% improvement in attention. Now, what’s really interesting about this study is that these benefits increased over time. So this suggests that there’s a cumulative physiological shift when taking Gotu kola and that it can help you to improve your resilience over the long term. More water? Right, let’s start. Gotu kola enhances cognitive function in older adults. A randomised double blind trial with 28 healthy Adelaide participants was reported in Ayurveda Integrative Medicine.

[00:08:27]:
This was in 2009. Now, this study found that 750 milligrams a day of Gotu kola extract for two months improved working memory and increased something called N100amplitude. Now, this is a neurological marker of attention and processing speed. And finally, Gotu kola supports cognitive recovery post stroke and it can protect against Alzheimer’s disease. So, really important. For example, a 2016 study reported in the International Journal of Neuroscience in 2008 looked at Gotu Kola’s effect on cognitive function in 48 patients who were recovering from stroke-related vascular cognitive impairment. Now, these participants were split into three groups. One received 1,000 milligrams a day of Gotu kola extract, another received 750 milligrams a day, and a third group received 3 milligrams a day of folic acid.

[00:09:27]:
Now, why folic acid? Well, it’s because it’s known for its role in supporting vascular and cognitive health, particularly through lowering homocysteine levels, which can damage your blood cells and impair brain function. Now, in this study, the go to COLA groups especially, interestingly, the one at the higher dose showed greater improvement in delayed memory recall when compared to folic acid. So in other words, Gotu kola appeared to help with brain functions like memory in ways that went beyond simply keeping blood vessels healthy. So it possibly provides protection and support directly to brain cells and neuropathways. Research has also suggested that Gotu kola can help reduce amyloid plaque buildup while protecting neurons from oxidative stress. Now, amyloid plaque buildup is associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. So the implications of this research for high performing professionals, especially women juggling leadership, responsibility and decision density, well, they’re profound. Gotu kola’s ability to regulate that startle reflex means that it can help you to dial down the background anxiety that might make you snap at an email or feel rattled by a question in a meeting.

[00:10:51]:
It supports long-term nervous system health. So Gotu kola doesn’t just manage symptoms, it restores function over time. It improves attention and it reduces reactivity, so important when you’re leading a team. It also enhances clarity without burnout by improving memory and focus. So it’s doing that without pushing your nervous system into overdrive. So you know, this one’s ideal for leaders who want to stay sharp without living in hypervigilance. And lastly, gotu kola encourages recovery from neurological strain. Whether it’s post-illness, post-burnout, or simply years of chronic cognitive load, Gotu kola supports that neural repair and resilience.

[00:11:40]:
From my perspective as a medical herbalist, I see Gotu kola as the herb for the leaders who are experiencing that hotbed of overwhelm and overextension and too much demand. You know, you’re just kind of over it all. But that calming, cooling nature helps you to soothe that mental and physical overdrive. It allows your system to reset and find its steadiness again. So this isn’t about short-term focus, although it does do this. This is about long-term clarity. So how do I like to take my go to cola? Well, personally, I think about it in terms of what my body needs at the time. So if I’m looking for gentle daily support, I might brew it as a tea.

[00:12:25]:
Two teaspoons of the dried herb per cup, steeped for about 10 or so minutes. And if I want Something a little more concentrated. A tincture works beautifully and capsules can be great for convenience when you want to get that therapeutic dosing. And topically, Gotu kola shines when it comes to scar healing and skin repair, so it’s a wonderful herb to add to your face creams. It’s great as an infused oil and I often include it in my creams as a tea oil tincture. And also I can sneak a bit of that tincture into an ointment as well because it doesn’t tend to upset that oil base. Go to coal is generally considered safe, but I wouldn’t use it during pregnancy and I’d be cautious if you have liver disease or you’re taking sedating medications. And of course, it’s always best to check in with a qualified medical professional.

[00:13:22]:
And of course, it’s always best to check in with a qualified medical professional before starting a herb like Gotu kola, especially if you have an existing health condition or you’re taking prescription medications. Gotu kola helps you to lead from presence rather than reflex. So when visibility once felt like a threat, your body might have learned to tighten, to overcompensate or to rush. Now, this herb supports the kind of nervous system that can meet any challenge without that armoring up. And so you stay steady, you stay clear and you stay connected. That’s it for this herbal la episode of gotu kolas calling to you. Maybe it’s time to let your nervous system catch up with your leadership. You don’t have to push to be clear.

[00:14:13]:
Herbs like Gotu kola can be part of your foundational leadership strategy, quietly working in the background to help you stay resilient, sharp and steady for the long game. But remember, plant medicine is potent medicine if you have any underlying health conditions, you’re pregnant, you’re trying to get pregnant, or you’re lactating, or you’re taking any medications. Don’t just rely on the information in this episode. Just because it’s natural, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. So please do get individualised advice by consulting with your medical herbalist. Not only are we trained in which herbs affect a particular health condition or your current life situation season, we’re also trained in herb drug interactions and in choosing exactly the right herb for you. You see, your body knows exactly what it needs to heal itself. Be that herbal, pharmaceutical, food-based, emotional mind medicine.

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My job as your herbalist is to connect you with the herbs your body is already searching for, sending you lots of love. Bye for now.