Nimal Siripala, currently working at the New Zealand statistics bureau, said he discovered Gotu kola (Centella asiatica), a herbal plant widely used in the health, food and cosmetic industries during his stint in Palau in 2008.
Siripala, in a statement, said the Gotu kola belongs to the carrot family and ecological conditions that prevail in Palau are very much suitable for it to grow.
“I found a tiny colony of the Gotu kola at the seaside of Ngermechluch in Melekeok in between coconut trees. I have never seen anyone using or selling it and I did not check its availability as a pharmaceutical product then,” Siripala said.
Siripala said he came to Palau not as a tourist but a development economist who pick things that would benefit the people of Palau.
Siripala said he came across the Gotu kola plant while spending more time at the Bethlehem Market area and walking around the villages in Palau.
He learned that Gotu Kola is just among several other plants that are unknown in Palau that contains high medicinal and culinary values.
Gotu Kola, he said, is the most valued and respected herb in countries like India, Sri Lanka and China for its medicinal power, and as a regular ingredient in Sri Lankan cuisine.
Gotu Kola could be growing in several gardens in Palau but the people may not be very much aware of it.
“It’s very important for Palau to know much about this herb,” he said.
He has been using Gotu kola for more than 50 years mostly as a delicious salad, eating the whole plant, without throwing away any part but not knowing much about its medicinal value yet.
“I know it’s very effective on mental alertness and a remedy for mental related stresses and illnesses. Normally it is called as brain tonic and its effect on longevity is another reason for its popularity,” Siripala said.
Facts about Gotu Kola
Gotu kola herb has been used for at least 2,000 years and has been accepted as a medicine in France way back in 1880. It was mainly used as a nerve tonic, to improve memory and clarity of thinking, to help anxiety and depression and sometimes indigestion. Gotu kola helps improve circulation, alertness and relaxation.
Gotu Kola has also been used in Ayurveda, or India’s traditional natural system of medicine for more than 5,000 years.
Siripala in his research said Gotu Kola is recommended for nervous disorders, epilepsy, senility and premature aging. It also strengthens the adrenal glands and cleanses the blood to treat skin impurities, said to combat stress and depression, increase libido and improve reflexes, and has been indicated for chronic venous insufficiency, minor burns, scars, scleroderma, skin ulcers, varicose veins, wound healing, rheumatism, blood diseases, congestive heart failure, urinary tract infections, venereal diseases, hepatitis and high blood pressure.
He said traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believed Gotu kola provides longevity, and they called it the “fountain of youth” herb.
Chinese medicine practitioners use Gotu Kola in the form of a tea to treat colds and infections. Gotu kola has also become popular in the West as a nerve tonic to promote relaxation and to enhance memory.
In Europe, they found that infusing the aerial parts of the Gotu Kola was used to purify the blood and treat wounds, ulcers, dermatitis, and hypertension. In Indonesia and Brazil, the same infusion was found to help improve memory.
In Malaysia, Gotu Kola was used to treat respiratory ailments like bronchitis and asthma, and gastric complaints.
Sri Lankans noticed that elephants, known for their longevity, ate the leaves of the plant.
Siripala said that the Gotu Kola can be used as a salad, cooked as a vegetable by tempering slowly frying with oil or lightly roasting with turmeric and graded coconut.
Recipe for Gotu Kola Salad
2-3bunches gotu kola–about 2-3 cups of leaves
3-5 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 sliced chilli (optional)
3 spoon of Maldives fish (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
Squeeze lime or lemon juice to taste.
Procedure:
Wash the leaves well. Shred finely with a sharp knife, combine with other ingredients and serve fresh. The flavour is slightly sour, slightly bitter and creamy. It goes well with rice.
Siripala said that Gotu Kola can also be used as a porridge for breakfast.
“This herbal porridge is considered as very effective if taken first at breakfast,” he said.
Boil half cup of rice, add one cup of Gotu Kola and half cup of coconut milk. Blend together for 2 minutes. Strain the liquid to boiled rice and add little salt and can drink with sugar.
How to grow Gotu Kola
Siripala said Gotu Kola grows naturally anywhere in soil in a moist and shady area, but if you want to grow it for family consumption, you can start in a flower pot or a small plot in your backyard. Mix soil with compost and plant Gotu Kola uprooted from wild or some other place.
Since Gotu Kola needs much moisture, Siripala said the best thing to do is to keep the plant under the shade and lay coconut husk near the plants.
Other ways of growing Gotu Kola is by laying an old tire on the ground, filling it with soil and compost after laying a thick layer of coconut husks, and planting the Gotu Kola. Again, keep the plant in a shaded area.
Siripala said that in New Zealand, Gotu Kola is sold in the market for about NZ$1 or 83 U.S. cents for a small bunch. It is also sold as an arthritis herb in Australia.
He said that because of its usefulness in medicine, there is a big world demand and it can be grown as a raw material for the US market.
“Countries like Palau can directly produce extract or capsules in collaboration with pharmaceutical firms,” he said.
Siripala said the government can also come up with ideas how to expand the domestic value added chain and extend support for new industries based on high value added products.
“The natural herbal based manufacturing can be a new industrial sector. That’s how some developments take place under particular conditions,” he said.
“If you decide to start growing and eating Gotu kola as a salad for its proven nutritional benefits, it will reduce your health bill and save foreign exchange on vegetable imports,” he added.
It is a natural product in Palau and the people can collect and eat it fresh, but for people in other places, here’s good news.
The modern world has been using Gotu Kola as an ingredient in many pharmaceuticals such as tonics, weight loss formulas and wound healing and anti-aging skin care products in several forms such as tincture, ointment or liquid, as dried herb; as a tea or in capsules.
Side effects are very rare from Gotu Kola and there are no known harmful combinations of Gotu Kola with other substances.
