Chapter Four - Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): Nutritional Properties and Plausible Health Benefits

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Abstract

Centella asiatica L. (Gotu Kola) is a nutritionally important plant and a valued traditional medicine in South East Asia. In this review, the chemical composition, nutritional values, and health benefits of C. asiatica have been discussed in detail to emphasize its usage as traditional food and medicine. C. asiatica is one of the most commonly used green leafy vegetables (GLVs) in some countries including Sri Lanka due to its high amounts of medicinally important triterpenoids and beneficial carotenoids. It is consumed in the form of GLVs and in the preparation of juice, drink, and other food products. It is also known to contain vitamins B and C, proteins, important minerals, and some other phytonutrients such as flavonoids, volatile oils, tannins, and polyphenol. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown important health benefits like antidiabetic, wound-healing, antimicrobial, memory-enhancing, antioxidant, and neuroprotecting activities. However, detailed scientific approaches on clinical trials regarding health benefits and nutritional values of C. asiatica are limited, hindering the perception of its benefits, mechanisms, and toxicity in order to develop new drug prototypes. In vitro studies have shown that the method of processing C. asiatica has an impact on its nutritional values and health-related beneficial compounds. The composition of its compounds is influenced by different biotic and abiotic factors which need to be studied in detail to provide information to the public in order to maximize the usage of this valuable plant.

Introduction

Centella asiatica L. (Gotu Kola) Urban (Syn. Gotu Kola coriacea Nannfd., Hydrocotyle asiatica L., Hydrocotyle lunata Lam., and Trisanthus cochinchinensis Lour.) is a tropical medicinal plant from Apiaceae family native to Southeast Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia as well as South Africa and Madagascar (Jamil, Nizami, & Salam, 2007). It is native to the warmer regions of both hemispheres. This plant grows wild in damp, shady places up to 7000 ft. and can be commonly seen along banks of rivers, streams, ponds, and irrigated fields. It also grows along stone walls or other rocky areas at elevation of approximately 2000 ft. in India and Sri Lanka (Sayasinha, Warnasuriya, & Dissanayake, 1999). The plant is also indigenous to China, the western South Sea Island, Australia, Madagascar, Southern United States, and insular and continental tropical America. This slender usually creeping herb is especially abundant in the tropical regions. The other common names of the plant are Asiatic Pennywort, Indian Pennywort, Thick-leaved Pennywort, and Gotu Kola. C. asiatica has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years in India, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Madagascar. It is one of the chief herbs for treating skin problems, to heal wounds (Shukla et al., 1999, Somboonwong et al., 2012), and for revitalizing the nerves and brain cells, hence primarily known as a “Brain food” in India, and many ailments in the body.

Section snippets

History of Gotu kola and Ancient Uses

Available literature reveals that Gotu kola has been used as a medicine in India from time immemorial. It had been used in Indian Ayurvedic practice and is well known for promoting longevity. With time, its value was further identified and it started being used in skin treatment topically and internally. Thus, it was used in curing leprosy, lupus, and eczema. The plant “Manduka parni” which is mentioned in the Susuita samhita, an ancient Hindu text, is believed to be C. asiatica. Interestingly,

Morphology and Distribution

C. asiatica (L.) is a prostrate, faintly aromatic, stoloniferous, perennial, usually creeper herb that attains height up to 15 cm (6 in.). However, there are some giant types which attain even up to 25 cm (10 in.) in height. Stem is glabrous, striated, rooting at the nodes. Leaves are emerging alternately in clusters at stem nodes, long petioles, 2–6 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide, orbicular-reniform, sheathing leaf base, crenate margins, glabrous on both sides. Flowers are in fascicled umbels, each umbel

Processing and Usage of Gotu Kola

Due to its various medicinal and nutritional properties, it is used as a traditional medicine, as a leafy vegetable, and as a beverage in many countries. The nutritional value of C. asiatica is mainly due to its richness in carotenoids and vitamins C and B complex.

The herb is commonly used as porridge for feeding preschool children in Sri Lanka in order to combat nutritional deficiency (Cox, Rajasuriya, Soysa, Gladwin, & Ashworth, 1993). This nutritious porridge is known as “Kola kenda,” a

Nutrient Composition

Generally, GLVs are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including β-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, and zeaxanthin, which protect human cells from damages eyes from age-related problems among many other effects.

Macronutrients found in C. asiatica are mainly proteins, carbohydrates, and fibers. According to three studies done in the previous

Phytonutrients

C. asiatica contains a broad spectrum of phytonutrients that provide a range of beneficial effects. Generally, C. asiatica contains many classes of phytonutrients such as triterpenes, carotenoids, glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids, volatile oils, and fatty oils.

The major chemical constituents of the plants are as follows: terpenoid compounds, asiatoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside, brahminoside, brahmoside, centelloside, brahmic acid 0.097%, centellinic acid, isobrahmic acid,

Analytical Techniques for Important Nutrient Compounds

Many of the nutritional compounds found in C. asiatica can be analyzed according to the methods described in “AOAC Official Methods of Analysis—AOAC International.” Some of the major and important components can be analyzed using methods described below.

Major Health Benefits of Gotu Kola

The use of C. asiatica in food and beverages has increased over the years basically due to its beneficial functional properties. Its potential antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, neuroprotective, and other activities have been widely claimed in many reports and is very much related to its properties and mechanism of action of the plant's bioactive constituents, namely the triterpenic acid (asiatic acid madecassoside acid), triterpenic saponin (madecassoside and asiaticoside), flavonoids, and

Toxicity and Safety

Except for few reports on contact dermatitis, no serious adverse effect of C. asiatica has been recognized (Izu, Aguirre, Gil, & Diaz-Pirez, 1992). Safety of consumption of dried plant has been proved in toxicity testing in which the median lethal dose of dried powder of C. asiatica, given orally into mice, was found to be higher than 8 g/kg (Chivapat, Chavalittumrongand, & Tantisira, 2011). In chronic toxicity study, Wistar rats of both sex receiving 20, 200, 600, and 1200 mg/kg/day of C.

Gaps in the Knowledge and Future Directions for Research

Several studies that have been carried out with C. asiatica provided detail information on many important compounds. Most of these studies have been carried out using various methodologies and nonstandard protocols for determination of the compounds. However, many classical techniques used in the past are now known to be less accurate. Also, some techniques are less precise and the authentication of the data is sometimes questionable. Liquid chromatography coupled mass-spectrophotometry

Conclusion

According to many studies, it has been proven that C. asiatica possesses very valuable nutritional compounds when consumed with dietary food. Various studies has been done in the recent past has shown different functional properties of C. asiatica including antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, antiulcer activity, antidiabetic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, cytotoxic activity, cardio, neuro, and skin protective activities, radioprotective activity, immunomodulatory effect,

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