Delinker at 13:01, 31 July 2023

2023-07-31T13:01:49Z

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{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae}}
{{About|Asiatic pennywort|Virginia pennywort|Obolaria}}

{{Speciesbox
|image = Centella asiatica (থানকুনি) (3).jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn | author = Lansdown, R.V. | title = ''Centella asiatica'' | page = e.T168725A88308182 | year = 2019 | access-date = 10 February 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Centella
|species = asiatica
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Ignatz Urban|Urban]]
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=cabi/>
|synonyms = ''Hydrocotyle asiatica'' [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] ''Trisanthus cochinchinensis'' [[João de Loureiro|Lour.]]
}}

'''''Centella asiatica''''', commonly known as '''Gotu Kola''', '''kodavan''', '''Indian pennywort''' and '''Asiatic pennywort''', is a [[herbaceous]], [[perennial plant]] in the [[flowering plant]] family [[Apiaceae]].<ref name="cabi">{{cite web|title=''Centella asiatica'' (Asiatic pennywort)|url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/12048|publisher=Invasive Species Compendium, CABI|access-date=2 January 2018|date=22 November 2017}}</ref> It is native to the wetlands in [[Asia]].<ref>{{cite web | last=United States Department of Agriculture | title= Plant Profile for ''Centella asiatica'' | url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CEAS | access-date = 15 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="FD">{{cite web | last=Floridata | title= ''Centella asiatica'' | url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cent_asi.cfm | access-date = 15 July 2012}}</ref> It is used as a culinary [[vegetable]] and as a [[medicinal herb]].<ref name=cabi/>

==Description==
Centella grows in [[temperate climate|temperate]] and [[tropical]] swampy areas in many regions of the world.<ref name=cabi/> The stems are slender, creeping [[stolon]]s, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other.<ref name=cabi/> It has long-stalked, green, rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins.<ref name=cabi/> The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles, around {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on}}. The rootstock consists of [[rhizome]]s, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs.<ref name=cabi/>

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

==Habitat==
''Centella asiatica'' is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and wetland regions of the Southeastern US.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Centella asiatica''|url=http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=331|website=Alabama Plant Atlas|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=''Centella asiatica''|url=http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=709|website=Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref> 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 as long as they are watered regularly enough (such as in a home garden arrangement).{{Cn|date=June 2021}}

==Chemistry==

''Centella'' contains pentacyclic [[triterpenoid]]s, including [[asiaticoside]], [[brahmoside]], [[asiatic acid]], and [[brahmic acid]] (madecassic acid). Other constituents include [[centellose]], [[centelloside]], and madecassoside.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Bhagirath |last2=Rastogi |first2=R.P. |title=A reinvestigation of the triterpenes of ''Centella asiatica'' |journal=Phytochemistry |date=May 1969 |volume=8 |issue=5 |pages=917–921 |doi=10.1016/S0031-9422(00)85884-7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Bhagirath |last2=Rastogi |first2=R.P. |title=Chemical examination of ''Centella asiatica'' linn—III |journal=Phytochemistry |date=August 1968 |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=1385–1393 |doi=10.1016/S0031-9422(00)85642-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=edited by Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., Michael T.|title=Textbook of natural medicine|date=2012|publisher=Churchill Livingstone|location=Edinburgh|isbn=9781437723335|page=650|edition=4th}}</ref>

==Culinary use==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2020}}

In [[Burmese cuisine]], raw pennywort is used as the main constituent in a salad mixed with onions, crushed peanuts, bean powder and seasoned with lime juice and fish sauce. Centella is used as a leafy green in [[Sri Lanka]]n cuisine, being the predominantly locally available leafy green, where it is called {{transl|si|gotu kola}}. It is most often prepared as {{transl|si|malluma}}, a traditional accompaniment to [[rice]] and vegetarian dishes, such as {{transl|hi|[[dal]]}}, and [[jackfruit]] or [[pumpkin]] curry. It is considered nutritious. In addition to finely chopped {{transl|si|gotu kola}} plants, the {{transl|si|gotu kola malluma}} may be eaten with grated [[coconut]], diced [[shallots]], [[Lime (fruit)|lime]] (or [[lemon]]) juice, and sea salt. Additional ingredients are finely chopped green [[Chili pepper|chilis]], [[chili powder]], [[turmeric]] powder, or chopped [[carrots]]. The centella fruit-bearing structures are discarded from the {{transl|si|gotu kola malluma}} due to their intense bitter taste. A variation of [[porridge]] known as {{transl|si|kola kenda}} is also made with {{transl|si|gotu kola}} in Sri Lanka. {{transl|si|Gotu kola kenda}} is made with well-boiled red rice with some extra liquid, [[coconut milk]] first extract, and {{transl|si|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 {{transl|hi|dhal}}.

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 [[spring roll|cold rolls]]. In Bangkok, vendors in the [[Chatuchak Weekend Market]] sell it alongside coconut, [[Roselle (plant)|roselle]], [[Chrysanthemum tea|chrysanthemum]], orange and other health drinks. In [[Malay cuisine]] it is known as pegaga, and the leaves of this plant are used for ''[[ulam (salad)|ulam]]'', a type of vegetable salad.<ref name=cabi/> ''C. asiatica'' is widely used in various [[Indian cuisine|Indian regional cuisines]].
In Bangladesh Centella is called ''Thankuni Pata'' and used in various dishes, one of the most appetising of which is the [[pakora]]-like snack called ''Thankuni Patar Bora''; made of mashed Centella, [[lentil]]s, [[julienning|julienne]]-ed onion and [[Chilli pepper|green chilli]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

== Traditional medicine ==
In [[traditional medicine]], ''C. asiatica'' has been used to treat various disorders and minor wounds,<ref name=cabi/> although clinical efficacy and safety have not been scientifically confirmed.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web|title=Gotu kola|url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/gotu-kola.html|publisher=Drugs.com|access-date=2 January 2018|date=2009}}</ref> [[Contact dermatitis]] and skin irritation can result from [[topical medication|topical application]].<ref name=drugs/> [[somnolence|Drowsiness]] may occur after consuming it.<ref name=drugs/> The herb may have [[adverse effect]]s on [[liver function]] when used over many months.<ref name=drugs/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jorge |first1=O. A. |last2=Jorge |first2=A. D. |title=Hepatotoxicity associated with the ingestion of ''Centella asiatica'' |journal=Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas |date=February 2005 |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=115–24 |doi=10.4321/s1130-01082005000200006 |pmid=15801887 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Agriculture ==
In the context of [[phytoremediation]], ''C. asiatica'' is a potential [[phytoextraction]] tool owing to its ability to take up and [[:wikt:translocation|translocate]] metals from root to shoot when grown in soils contaminated by [[heavy metal (chemical element)|heavy metal]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abd. Manan |first1=Fazilah |last2=Chai |first2=Tsun-Thai |last3=Abd. Samad |first3=Azman |last4=Mamat |first4=Dayangku Dalilah |title=Evaluation of the Phytoremediation Potential of Two Medicinal Plants |journal=Sains Malaysiana |date=1 April 2015 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.17576/jsm-2015-4404-04 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Centella asiatica - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg|Emerging flowers
File:Centella asiatica - Flickr - Kevin Thiele (1).jpg|Flower, close-up
File:Centella asiatica in Karnataka.jpg|''Centella asiatica'', India
File:Nam bai bua bok.JPG|''Bai bua bok'' as a beverage, Thailand
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Centella asiatica}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mackinlayoideae]]
[[Category:Edible Apiaceae]]
[[Category:Dietary supplements]]
[[Category:Flora of temperate Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]]
[[Category:Plants used in Ayurveda]]
[[Category:Plants used in traditional African medicine]]
[[Category:Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]

Centella asiatica - Revision history

Delinker at 13:01, 31 July 2023