Gotu kola

In the west, Gotu kola is most often found in energy formulas and tonics, it being believed that it is good for mental clarity and alertness.

Gotu kola - History

Gotu kola has also been used medicinally since ancient times in China, Indonesia and India. Over the years it has been used for an incredibly wide range of conditions - including for mental clarity and alertness, digestive complaints ("cooling the bowels"), as an anti-inflammatory in bruising, for skin conditions such as psoriasis, fever and respiratory conditions. In modern times it is used by herbalists to treat venous insufficiency.[2]

Gotu kola's great "claim to fame" is that it was said to be an essential part of the longevity practice of Li Ching-Yuen - a mythical Chinese herbalist and Daoist master who, it is claimed, lived to be 256 years old. The longevity claims, which may sound preposterous, were officially confirmed by the Chinese government and around so much interest that the French government established a laboratory for the study of Gotu kola.[3]

Li Ching-Yuen's obituary was published in the New York Times on May 6th, 1933. [4]

In western literature, Gotu kola is not mentioned before the 19th century (this is typical with herbs and plants of the orient.) One of the first mentions it receives is in Sir Whitelaw Ainslie's 1824 Materia indica, and he testifies to the medicinal reputation of the plant among the herbalists of India - but makes no mention of any aphrodisiac quality to the plant. And neither do any other writers of the 19th century. Ainslie does mention two other items as aphrodisiac - the Skink (animal) and "Luffa Abunafa" - a plant of uncertain origin; demonstrating that he has not avoided the topic of aphrodisiacs altogether.

There is not a single mention of the plant as an aphrodisiac in western literature (i.e., in Google Books database) until 1990. None of the usual sources, such as lists of medicinal plants that mention so many of the aphrodisiac herbs of Indian tradition, make any mention of it in this context. And then, in May 1990 it appears in a blaze of glory: an ingredient in an herbal formula called "Aphro", advertised in Vegetarian times. The Ad says "Have more and better sex with Aphro.... containing Damiana Leaves, Saw Palmetto, Siberian Ginseng, Echinacea Purpurea, Gotu Kola, Fo-Ti and Sarsparilla."

Is Gotu kola an Aphrodisiac?

Where, then, does Gotu kola's reputation as an aphrodisiac come from? For "aphrodisiac" is now merrily included in lists of qualities and uses of the plant; evidently copied verbatim from other sources.

In the Wikipedia entry for Gotu kola, we find the following salacious - and unreferenced - entry:

However, the "Aruna Withane" of this mention, cannot be sourced in Google's entire index; nor does the name occur in Google Books. A few other pages have copied Wikipedia's entry - but this line of inquiry goes nowhere: Indeed, looking at a list of ancient Kings of Sri Lanka, [5] Aruna Withane, the 10th century King of Sri Lanka, does not exist. The Wikipedia entry would appear to be completely fictitious, deliberately falsified; either a prank or a strange marketing ploy.

Such are the dangers of relying on an "encyclopedia" that can be edited by anyone: Wikipedia is a great "first line of inquiry" but by its nature as an openly editable source, it is prone to inaccuracy and deliberate falsehood.

Pubmed has many studies of Gotu kola within a medical context - but only one on sexual function: Gotu kola is part of an herbal formula, Etana, that showed enhancement of erectile function in a 2009 study on male rats at Petra University, Jordan; and no noted toxic effects. The formula contained Panax quinquelotius (Ginseng), Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola), Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali), Epimedium grandiflorum (Horny goat weed), and flower pollen extracts[6]

Summary

Gotu kola is a very interesting plant from a medical point of view. It has a reputation for improving circulation, memory, mental alertness and calmness, wound healing, has been the center of much scientific research, and has a grand status in both Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. As such, it may have been included in "aphrodisiac formulas" which address a broad spectrum. However, this study has so far found nothing to support aphrodisiac claims, which appear to have been of recent origin. If anyone can point this researcher in the direction of further enlightenment, it would be welcomed.

Gotu kola has shown some side effects, particularly at high doses. [2]

Gotu kola is listed in the AHPA's "Herbs of Commerce", p.215. [7]

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