Graded against 178,763 supplements and 757 reviewed supplement and medication pairs, sourced from PubMed, FDA CAERS, openFDA, NIH DSLD
Gotu Kola
BotanicalLast updated
AVELOR SUMMARY
Gotu kola is a traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine herb with two distinct clinical applications: (1) wound healing and scar reduction (the triterpenes madecassoside and asiaticoside stimulate collagen synthesis by 200-300%), and (2) anxiety and cognitive enhancement.
Our research shows it's one of the rare herbs where the dermatological evidence is STRONGER than the nootropic evidence, the wound healing mechanism is well-characterized at the molecular level (SMAD pathway activation).
A 2010 study found it reduced anxiety by 30% after a single dose, but the cognitive data is mostly from animal studies.
WHAT IT DOES
The triterpenes (asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid) have two distinct pharmacological actions: (1) For wound healing/collagen: they activate the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway in fibroblasts, dramatically increasing type I and type III collagen synthesis, fibronectin, and glycosaminoglycan production. They also increase tensile strength of new skin by improving collagen cross-linking. (2) For anxiety/cognition: they modulate GABAergic neurotransmission and reduce corticosterone (stress hormone), though the exact CNS mechanism is less well-characterized than the dermatological pathway.
Independently graded against 178,763 indexed supplements and 757 reviewed supplement and medication pairs, sourced from PubMed, FDA CAERS, openFDA, and NIH DSLD | Last updated:
Not medical advice. Based on published clinical research and systematic reviews.