Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

Gotu kola, the common name for Centella asiatica (also called Asian or Indian pennywort and tiger grass), is a creeping herb eaten as a vegetable and salad green and used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Chinese herbalism for wound healing, skin conditions, circulatory complaints and memory. ORIA's evidence read is mixed-positive on efficacy: gotu kola's triterpenes, asiaticoside and madecassoside, support collagen synthesis and microcirculation, and the better-supported uses - chronic venous insufficiency and wound or scar healing, often topical - have reasonable clinical backing, while the cognitive claims are weaker. As a culinary leaf or tea it is safe. The reason ORIA assigns caution rather than okay is a specific, documented safety signal: concentrated oral gotu kola has been linked, in rare instances, to clinically apparent acute liver injury with jaundice. The published cases - including a series of women using it for weight loss and a report of use for acne - showed onset over roughly three to eight weeks, a hepatocellular pattern of injury, and generally full recovery after discontinuation, sometimes with immunoallergic features; the official LiverTox likelihood score is C, a probable rare cause of clinically apparent liver injury, and contamination or co-occurring hepatotoxins in commercial products could not always be excluded. This places gotu kola in the same category as several other botanicals ORIA flags for rare hepatotoxicity. The practical implications: enjoy it freely as food, but treat concentrated supplements with respect - keep courses time-limited rather than continuous, avoid combining them with alcohol or other liver-stressing products, discontinue and seek medical attention at any sign of liver trouble (jaundice, dark urine, unusual fatigue), and avoid it in pregnancy. Verdict: a genuinely useful traditional herb with real benefits for skin and veins, graded caution because of a real if uncommon risk of liver injury from concentrated oral use.