Chota Gokru (Tribulus terrestris Linn.)

What is Chota Gokru?

Tribulus terrestris Linn., known across the Indian subcontinent as Chota Gokru (small Gokru), is a prostrate annual herb of the family Zygophyllaceae. It grows low and spreading along the ground, and is most readily recognised by its fruits — which resemble ribbed, spinous, tuberculate tiny spherical balls. The hard, spiny fruit is the plant's signature feature and the part most associated with its traditional use.

Where does it grow?

Geographical distribution

Chota Gokru is widely distributed in the tropics and warm temperate regions of India, China and parts of Europe. As a hardy, adaptable annual it colonises open, disturbed and waste ground readily, and is found across a broad belt of warm climates throughout the Old World.

Ideal growing conditions

The plant favours warm, dry and sunny conditions, thriving on open ground in tropical and warm-temperate climates. Its prostrate, drought-tolerant habit allows it to establish on poor, well-drained soils where many other herbs struggle, which accounts for its wide natural distribution.

Parts used

The fruits are the principal part used. It is the fruit that carries the plant's characteristic activity — described traditionally as diuretic and aphrodisiac — and that forms the basis of the standardized extract.

Chemical constituents

The chief constituents of Chota Gokru are steroidal sapogenins. These sapogenins are the marker compounds by which the botanical is identified and standardized, and they define the profile of a quality-assured Tribulus terrestris extract.

Traditional uses

The fruits are traditionally regarded as diuretic and aphrodisiac. Clinical studies indicate an anti-urolithiatic property — that is, an action against the formation of urinary stones. The herb is also valued for improving muscle tone, stamina and endurance, and is known traditionally to increase sexual drive and performance.

Ayurvedic profile

In the Ayurvedic tradition Chota Gokru (Gokshura) is a well-known rasayana botanical associated with urinary health and vitality, characterised through the classical attributes below.

• Rasa (taste): Madhura (sweet)
• Virya (potency): Sheeta (cooling)
• Vipaka (post-digestive effect): Madhura (sweet)
• Dosha action: Balances Vata and Pitta, classically valued for its supportive action on the urinary system and on vitality