FocusHerb
Gotu kola benefits for cognitive function
A 2007 double blind random control trial involving healthy elderly volunteers in the journal
of Ethnopharmacology showed that higher doses of Gotu kola (750mg daily) enhanced working memory and improved attention. Improvements
of self-rated mood were also found following the treatment. Overall, the findings suggested the potential of Gotu kola to attenuate
the age-related decline in cognitive function and mood disorder in the healthy elderly.
A 2018 review of studies looking at
Gotu kola
as a neuroprotectant found that it “possesses wholesome anti-oxidative properties to attenuate oxidative stress, a high anti-inflammatory
potent, neuron regenerative ability, potential for neuron damage prevention, neurotoxicity inhibition effect, anti-anxiety and
anti-depressive properties, AChE inhibitory potential and ability to reduce accumulation of amyloid plaques. These comprehensive multifunctional
properties make it capable of promoting general neuroprotection as well as simultaneously targeting multiple disease pathways to arrest
neurodegenerative disorders.”
A meta-analysis by Puttarak et al in 2017 did not fully confirm the positive effects of Gotu kola for
cognitive function indicating that although there was not strong evidence to support the use of Gotu kola for cognitive function improvement
in each cognitive domain, that it could “improve alertness and relieve anger”.
Gotu kola benefits for Dementia
No studies have
definitively reported whether Gotu kola can improve cognitive function or slow decline in people with dementia. However
in preclinical models and animal studies of Alzheimer's disease, extracts of Gotu kola lowered behavioural deficits, reduced
biological markers of Alzheimer's disease, protected against toxicity from beta-amyloid, reduced oxidative stress, and prevented the
shrinkage of neuronal processes [1][2][3][4].