Hydrocotyle
Made from gotu kola — the pennywort of Asian medicine, its asiaticoside a genuine wound-healing compound of modern pharmacology, and the classical remedy of the thickened skin.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of skin that thickens and will not soften: psoriasis-like thickening, the lupus-like states of the old books, the chronic ulcers and the thickened scars, and the little creeping herb of the Asian marshes — a genuine modern wound medicine. The thickening-skin remedy: that is Hydrocotyle.
The substance, in plain words
Gotu kola is the creeping pennywort of Asian marshes, eaten as a salad and revered as a longevity herb — and a genuine subject of modern pharmacology: its asiaticoside is studied and used for wound healing and skin repair, a real, active wound-healing compound. The proving gave the herb the thickened-skin portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about appearance. Worry over the thickening skin, the scars, the chronicity, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the chronic discomfort.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the long, recurrent states.
The body
- Thickened skin states. The keynote: the thickened, hardened skin — the psoriasis-like states and the thickened scars of the books.
- Lupus-like states. The books' great use — the lupus-like, ulcerating skin of the old chapter.
- Chronic ulcers. The slow, weeping ulcers the herb's wound chemistry serves.
- Burning and itching. The burning, itching thickened patches of the proving.
- Worse cold damp and night. Wet weather and night thicken the skin further.
- Better for the herb's course and rest. The slow softening course and rest ease the thickened state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; night; scratching; rich food. | the herb's course; rest; open air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Skin (thickening, ulcers, scars), general vitality, circulation of the skin.
Where the classical picture comes from
The marsh pennywort's proving gave the thickened-skin portrait; Hydrocotyle became the classical remedy of the thickening skin and the chronic ulcer — the Asian wound herb serving the scars its chemistry heals.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Gotu kola is genuinely one of herbal pharmacology's most interesting wound-healers: its asiaticoside is studied and used for wound healing, skin repair and scar management — a real, active compound, the subject of genuine modern research. The herb eaten for longevity carries a chemistry the laboratory confirms for the skin.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Thiosinaminum | Scar tissue | Thiosinaminum softens the scar; Hydrocotyle heals and thins the thickened skin. |
| Sars | Thickened oozing skin | Graphites oozes sticky honey; Hydrocotyle thickens and ulcerates of the lupus chapter. |
| Chrysarobinum | Psoriasis | Chrysarobin is the silvery plaque; Hydrocotyle the thickened states and the scars. |
| Petroleum | Chronic skin | Petroleum cracks in winter; Hydrocotyle thickens toward the lupus chapter. |