CENTELLA ASIATICA [Asian penywort / Indian penny wort]
Tamil
: Vallaarai, Hindi: Manduka parni, Tel: Saraswathiaaku Mal: Kodangal Kannada:
Brahmi soppu
CENTELLA ASIATICA is a slender herb with prominent leaves along
the horizontal stem that creeps in the edges of water canals in agricultural
lands and it has the tendency of spreading fast. It grows well in all warm
regions of Asia, Africa and Australia.
Being
a tender herb it is used as ‘green’ in many parts of the world. Tamils venerate
it as ‘Vallaarai keerai’. The plant can be grown in house garden by providing
good supply of water.
In
certai Asian socities Centella is
used in salads along with Onion. Several cultures make soups and health drinks
using crushed plants of Centella.
There appears to be a general acceptance of Centella
in diet as a vegetable/ drink. Somehow Southern India largely utilizes Centella as a ‘brain toner’ that boosts
the capacity of memory. In most other cultures there is no reference to Centella for toning up memory. But, there
is a broad agreement over Centella as a vegetable.
Centella asiatica
contains pentacyclic triterpenoids
[including asiastic acid and brahmic acid]and also Trisaccharide glycosides. At least 124 different compounds have
been isolated /identified from this tiny herb. No wonder it has a wide appeal
among different human cultures.
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