Centella Asiatica Benefits To Cure Chronic Diseases

Have you ever heard of Centella Asiatica benefits to cure chronic disease? Other names are Asiatic Pennywort or Indian Pennywort? These plants grow wildly, its a weeds that grow around us. Many people are unaware of the benefits of this plant, a weed plant that often likes moist soil and is sufficiently expose to sunlight. Usually we can find it on the edge of the ditch, rice field, under shady trees and shrubs.

Centella Asiatica comes from the widespread tropical Asia region of Southeast Asia. This plant can found in Indonesia, India, China, Japan and Australia. In the legend mentioned, Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica) is one of the plants use to make long-lived herbs taught from T'ai Chi Ch'uan Li Ching-Yuen. He lived for 256 years because of consuming traditional Centella Asiatica herbs from China.

Centella Asiatica Benefits

The characteristics of this plant can seen from single round leaves, kidney-shaped and jagged edges. While the fruit is small-shape oval and slightly fragrant. Centella Asiatica red grows with stolon and has no stem, but has rhizoma.

There are several types of Centella Asiatica are often encounter, including Centella Asiatica red and Centella Asiatica green. Centella Asiatica red found in rocky areas, dry and open. While Centella Asiatica green can found in areas of rice fields and on the sidelines of the grass. The growth of green Centella Asiatica in a humid and open area, or protected from the sun. There are also four types of plants that resemble Centella Asiatica. In Indonesia this plant called Antanan Kembang, Antanan Beurit, Antanan Mountain and Antanan Air.

In traditional medicine records, Centella Asiatica benefits have long been use to treat varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, psoriasis, minor injuries, and stimulate breast milk. Research from the American Cancer Society says, laboratory studies show reduced tumor cell growth after using Centella Asiatica leaf. 

Centella Asiatica leaf has been use as a medicinal herb in the Ayurvedic tradition, Herbal medicine in the West, herbal medicine in Africa, traditional herbs in China. Among these medications aimed at stimulating skin regeneration in burns and preventing scar tissue formation.

This plant has compounds of Tanin, Asiaticosida and Antilepra. Centella Asiatica benefits to heal wounds and inflammation in the throat, abdominal pain, and intestines. Centella Asiatica leaves are sweet, cool, clean the blood and good for blood circulation. In addition to Centella Asiatica benefits, these herbs are also rich in minerals, including potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron salts.

Reference

• Pharmacological Review on Centella asiatica: A Potential Herbal Cure-all. Indian Journal Pharm Science, 2010.
• Centella Asiatica, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.