Centella asiatica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| iCentella asiatica | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Centella asiatica (L.) Urban |
Centella asiatica is a small herbaceous annual plant of the family Apiaceae, native to Asia. Common names include Gotu Kola, Asiatic Pennywort, Antanan, Pegaga, and Brahmi (although this last name is shared with Bacopa monnieri and other herbs). It is used as a medicinal herb in Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.
The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish green in color, interconnecting one plant to another. It has long-stalked, green, reniform leaves with rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins. The leaves are born on pericladial petioles, around 20 cm. The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs.
The flowers are pinkish to red in color, born in small, rounded bunches (umbels) near the surface of the soil. Each flower is partly enclosed in two green bracts. The hermaphrodite flowers are minute in size (less than 3 mm), with 5-6 corolla lobes per flower. Each flower bears five stamens and two styles.
The crop matures in three months and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually. When eaten raw as a salad leaf, pegaga is thought to help maintain youthfulness. A decoction of juice from the leaves is thought to relieve hypertension. This juice is also used as a general tonic for good health. A poultice of the leaves is also used to treat open sores.
The isolated steroids from the plant have been used to treat leprosy. Herbalists claim it contains a longevity factor called 'youth Vitamin X' said to be 'a tonic for the brain and endocrine glands' and maintain that extracts of the plant help circulation and skin problems Template:Natures Medicine by Richard Lucus et. al.. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that it may have nootropic effects.
Botanical synonyms include Hydrocotyl asiatica L.
