Introduction:

Centella asiatica (L) Urban Source: http://agromedia.mardi.gov.my/MEPIS_eng/index.php/galeri-herba-2/92-pegaga

Centella asiatica, commonly known as centella, is a small, herbaceous, annual plant and is native to India, Sri Lanka, northern Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Melanesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and other parts of Asia. This plant and its preparation have been in use since ancient times especially in the Ayurvedic medical system of India and in the folk medicine of China and Madagascar. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most important medicinal plant species to be conserved and cultivated. In Malaysia, although it has been used by our traditional healers in their herbal remedies, but its popularity are confined more as a traditional vegetable or an ulam especially among the Malay communities rather than a medicinal plant.

Plant Information:

Scientific name: Centella asiatica (L.) Urban. Common name: Asiatic Pennywort, Spadeleaf [English], Gotu Kola Local name: Pegaga [Malay] i. Hydrocotyle asiatica Linn ii. Centella erecta (L. f.) Fernald Synonym: iii. Hydrocotyle asiatica L. iv. Hydrocotyle erecta L. f. v. Centella repanda (Pers.) Small

Plant Taxonomy:

Kingdom Subkingdom Infrakingdom Division Subdivision Infradivision Class Superorder Order Family Genus Species

Plantae plantes, Planta, Vegetal, plants Viridaeplantae green plants Streptophyta land plants Tracheophyta vascular plants, tracheophytes Spermatophytina spermatophytes, seed plants, Angiospermae flowering plants, angiosperms, Magnoliopsida Asteranae Apiales Apiaceae Centella L. Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. spadeleaf

Habitats:

Centella commonly grows along ditches and in low, wet areas. In Indian and Southeast Asian centella, the plant frequently suffers from high levels of bacterial contamination, possibly from having been harvested from sewage ditches. Because the plant is aquatic, it is especially sensitive to pollutants in the water, which are easily incorporated into the plant.

In Malaysia, Centella grows wildly under a wide range of conditions; some races prefer light shade, while others do well in open sunny areas. Some even grow under more harsh conditions like on stone walls. In the wild, most of these plants are found in wet or moist surrounding like swamps, along the margins of lakes, ponds and have also been seen growing in paddy fields

Plant Description

Centella have slandered stems, creeping stolon, green to reddish-green in colour, connecting plants to each other. It has long-stalked, green, reniform leaves with rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins. The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles, around 2 cm. The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in colour and covered with root hairs.

The flowers are pinkish to red in colour, 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 fruit are densely reticulate, distinguishing it from species of Hydrocotyle which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit. The crop matures in three months, and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually.

At the moment there are three distinguishable centella subspecies in Malaysia namely Pegaga salad, Pegaga kerinting or nyonya and Pegaga biasa or pegaga ubi. The recommended race for commercial production at this stage is pegaga ubi.

The Advantage & Uses:

The whole plant from the leaves, aerial parts, roots and flowers can be used and consumed. Centella is commonly consumed as a vegetable among Malays, as a cooling drink by the Chinese and as a brain tonic by the Indians. The whole plant has high medicinal values and has been used since ancient times to treat various diseases. It is used as an antipyretic, diuretic, and as an antidote in the treatment of heatstroke, diarrhoea, ulcerations, eczema, traumatic diseases, urinary tract infection and stones, nosebleeds, common cold, hepatitis, tonsillitis, dysentery, sore throat, bronchitis, pharyngitis, cough, acute enteritis, acute conjunctivitis, mumps, mastitis, glaucoma, measles, hypertension and uraemia. It is used externally for bleeding wounds, bruises, boils and sores, snakebites, napkin rash and anus rash in babies and shingles. This herb is said to have a direct action on lowering the blood pressure and is often referred to as a rejuvenating medicament. The leaves are believed to purify the blood and cure indigestion, nervousness and dysentery. A powdered dried leaf taken with milk is believed to improve the memory. Centella has also been employed as an energy tonic, an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for mental disorders.

References: 1. Gohil KJ, Patel JA, Gajjar AK. Pharmacological Review on Centella asiatica: A Potential Herbal Cure-all. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2010 Sep; 72(5):546-56. doi: 10.4103/0250-474X.78519. 2. Kamarudin Mat-Salleh, A. Latiff, 2002. Tumbuhan Ubatan Malaysia. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangi in collaboration with Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Alam Sekitar. 797 pp. 3. Ibrahim Jantan. Medicinal Plant Research in Malaysia: Scientific Interests and Advances. Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia 2(2) 2004: 27-46 4. Musa Yaacob, Azimah Abdul Kadir K., Zaharah Hassan. (2009): Tumbuhan Ubatan Popular Malaysia. Serdang: Institut Penyelidikan dan Kemajuan Pertanian Malaysia (MARDI) 5. Herba- Pegaga. Retrieved December 13th 2013 from http://www.forestry.gov.my/herba/pegaga_en.pdf 6. Herb Galery Pegaga (Centella asiatica (L.) Urban). Retrieved December 13th 2013 from http://agromedia.mardi.gov.my/MEPIS_eng/index.php/galeri-herba-2/92-pegaga