Centella asiatica

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This article is about Asiatic pennywort. For Virginia pennywort, see Obolaria.

Centella asiatica

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Centella
Species:
C. asiatica
Binomial name
Centella asiatica
Synonyms[2]

Hydrocotyle asiatica L.
Trisanthus cochinchinensis Lour.

Centella asiatica, commonly known as Indian pennywort, Asiatic pennywort, spadeleaf, coinwort or gotu kola,

perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae.[2] It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islands in the western Pacific Ocean.[2][4][5][6] It is consumed as a culinary vegetable and is used in traditional medicine.[2]

Description

Centella grows in

tropical swampy areas in many regions of the world.[2] The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other.[2] It has long-stalked, green, rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins.[2] The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles,[clarification needed] around 2 cm (0.79 in). The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are cream in color and covered with root hairs.[2]

The flowers are white or crimson in color, born in small, rounded bunches (umbels) near the surface of the soil.[2] Each flower is partly enclosed in two green bracts. The hermaphrodite flowers are minute in size, less than 3 mm (0.12 in), with five to six corolla lobes per flower. Each flower bears five stamens and two styles. The fruit are densely reticulate, distinguishing it from species of Hydrocotyle which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit.[6] The crop matures in three months, and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually. It is a highly invasive plant, rated as "high risk".[2] Centella has numerous common names in its regions of distribution.[2]

Triterpene compounds of Centella asiatica

Ecology

Centella asiatica is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia, parts of Australia, and wetland regions of the Southeastern US.[7][8] Because the plant is aquatic, it is especially sensitive to biological and chemical pollutants in the water, which may be absorbed into the plant. It can be cultivated in drier soils, including sandy loam,[citation needed] as long as they are watered regularly enough (such as in a home garden arrangement).[9]

Composition

Centella contains pentacyclic

triterpenoids and trisaccharide derivatives, including asiaticoside, brahmoside, asiatic acid, and brahmic acid (madecassic acid). Other constituents include centellose, centelloside, and madecassoside.[10][11][12] Approximately 124 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from Centella asiatica.[13]
Long term use on the skin can cause severe health problems including: skin irritation, intoxicated blood, red eyes and problems with the lymph nodes.

Uses

Culinary

In

carrots. The Centella fruit-bearing structures are discarded from the gotu kola malluma due to their intense bitter taste. A variation of porridge known as kola kanda is also made with gotu kola in Sri Lanka. Gotu kola kanda or Vallaarai kanji is made with well-boiled red rice with some extra liquid, coconut milk first extract, and gotu kola purée. The porridge is accompanied with jaggery
for sweetness. Centella leaves are also used in modern sweet pennywort drinks and herbal teas. In addition the leaves are served stir-fried whole in coconut oil, or cooked in coconut milk with garlic or dhal.

Bai bua bok as a beverage, Thailand

In Indonesia, the leaves are used for sambai oi peuga-ga, an Aceh type of salad, and is also mixed into asinan in Bogor. In Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, this leaf is used for preparing a drink or can be eaten in raw form in salads or cold rolls. In Bangkok, vendors in the Chatuchak Weekend Market sell it alongside coconut, roselle, chrysanthemum, orange and other health drinks. In Malay cuisine it is known as pegaga, and the leaves of this plant are used for ulam, a type of vegetable salad.[2] C. asiatica is widely used in various Indian regional cuisines. In Bangladesh and India (specifically in West Bengal), Centella is called Thankuni Pata and used in various dishes, one of the most appetising of which is the

green chilli
.

Traditional medicine

In

liver function have been reported on Drugs.com with C. asiatica administration for 20 to 60 days.[16]

Telomerase activation

C. asiatica has been shown to activate

TA-65 2.2-fold, and maslinic acid 2-fold.[17]

Agricultural use

In the context of

heavy metals.[18]

Gallery

  • Emerging flowers
    Emerging flowers
  • Close-up of flower
    Close-up of flower
  • Centella asiatica, India
    Centella asiatica, India
  • A patch of Centella asiatica or pegaga in Malay
    A patch of Centella asiatica or pegaga in Malay

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T168725A88308182.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Centella asiatica (Asiatic pennywort)". Invasive Species Compendium, CABI. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Centella asiatica". European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Centella asiatica (L.) Urb". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. ^ United States Department of Agriculture. "Plant Profile for Centella asiatica". Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  6. ^ a b Floridata. "Centella asiatica". Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Centella asiatica". Alabama Plant Atlas. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Centella asiatica". Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  9. doi:10.3390/agronomy13081999
    .
  10. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)85884-7
    .
  11. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)85642-3
    .
  12. ISBN 9781437723335
    .
  13. PMID 33861456
    .
  14. ^ "A selection of classic Burmese dishes". Travelfish. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  15. PMID 24399761
    .
  16. ^ a b c d "Gotu kola". Drugs.com. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  17. PMID 31485647
    .
  18. doi:10.17576/jsm-2015-4404-04
    .

External links

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