Talk:Centella asiatica

Citations Needed
Citation nr 24 is "Centella asiatica (L.) Leaf Extract Treatment During the Growth Spurt Period Enhances Hippocampal CA3 Neuronal Dendritic  Arborization in Rats  K. G. Mohandas Rao1, S. Muddanna Rao2 and S. Gurumadhva Rao3; Advance Access Publication 14 June 2006 eCAM 2006" available here http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2006/627102.pdf  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.111.103.70 (talk) 22:47, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Should the claim at the end about a guy living to 124 have a source, and other things to, such as "In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that it may have nootropic effects."

I've added citation needed markers to the mentioned unsourced statements. 24.220.79.116 23:43, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I've created a new section for the unverifiable bits, "Folklore". Kitarra 01:01, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I have added citations and removed the citation needed markers. I also corrected the Richard Lucas information- he may have popularized the herb, but he got the species wrong, assumed a nonexistent subspecies and a nonexistant Vitamin X. The linked article by master herbalist Michael Moore explains more. Karen S Vaughan 13:39, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Problem with the Widgerow citation
I tried, but this is the first time I've cited a journal and it looks as if I've bolloxed it up. Can someone tell me where I've gone wrong? 24.220.79.116 23:37, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Aha, nevermind, it looks as if I've fixed it. 24.220.79.116 23:43, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I've changed the link from a full-text payment-required pdf to a free abstract. Kitarra 00:59, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Different types of Gotu Kola or entirely different species
I've noticed at least three different looking plants all claiming to be Kotu Kola, including the one pictured here:

http://mindanao.com/photoblog/?p=2516

As well as plants that look more like the one in this article's photo.

Is it possible these are all different types of Gotu Kola or is one type not the real McCoy?202.88.81.69 (talk) 06:39, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Arthiritis
Gotu Kola is a best natural medicine against Arthiritis and other Auto Immune Diseases, but somehow it is not mentioned in the article.Yucatann: (talk) 04:25, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

"there is no such subspecies and no Vitamin X"
I consider the definitive statement of non-existence to be unprovable. The inability of one herbalist to locate a sub-species, or isolate an active ingredient in an extract does not conclusively prove its non-existence, regardless of the herbalist's level of repute or fame. This statement should be removed, or altered to read along the lines that "investigations subsequent to Lucas' claims have been unsuccessful in locating said subspecies or Vitamin". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.144.119.249 (talk) 02:02, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Hepatotoxicity
Some studies suggest that consumption of Centella Asiatica (Gotu kola) can result in Hepatotoxicity (ie. toxic for the liver), and of course pregnant women should avoid it in any case.-- 77.119.156.92 (talk) 10:58, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

some studies that might be included
"Anticancer activity: A large number of experimental reports proved that different solvent extracts of C. Asiatica have anti-cancerous activity. In vitro study on HeLa, HepG2, SW480, and MCF-7 cell lines showed that methanolic extract had induced apoptosis in human breast cancerous MCF-7 cells (Babykutty et al., 2009). Water extracts induced apoptosis in colonic crypts and exerted a chemopreventive effect on colon tumorigenesis in male F344 rats (Bunpo et al., 2004). Asiatic acid-induced apoptosis in human melanoma SK-MEL-2 cells (responsible for skin cancer) and SW480 human colon cancer cells (Park et al., 2005; Tang et al., 2009). Asiaticosideenhanced anti-tumor activity of vincristine in cancer cells (Huang et al., 2004). Constituents in the methanol extract inhibited the proliferation of human gastric adenocarcinoma (MK-1), human uterine carcinoma (HeLa), and murine melanoma (B16F10) cells (Yoshida et al., 2005)."

http://bio.sophiapublisher.com/html-607-43-mpr

Babykutty S., Padikkala J., Sathiadevan P.P., Vijayakurup V., Azis T.K.A., Srinivas P., and Gopala S., 2009, Apoptosis induction of Centella Asiatica on human breast cancer cells, Afr. J. Trad. CAM, 6: 9–16

Burpo P., Kataoka K., Arimochi H., Nakayama H., Kuwahara T., Bando Y., Izumi K., Vinitketkumnuen U., and Ohnishi Y., 2004, Inhibitory effects of Centella Asiatica on azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt focus formation and carcinogenesis in the intestines of F344 rats, Food and Chemical Toxicology: An International Journal Published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 42: 1987–1997 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2004.06.022

Park B.C., Bosire K.O., Lee E.S., Lee Y.S., and Kim J.A., 2005, Asiatic acid induces apoptosis in SK-MEL-2 human melanoma cells, Cancer Letters, 218: 81-90 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2004.06.039

Tang B., Zhu B., Liang Y., Bi L., Hu Z., Chen B., Zhang K., and Zhu J., 2011b, Asiaticoside suppresses collagen expression and TGF-β/Smad signaling through inducing Smad7 and inhibiting TGF-βRI and TGF-βRII in keloid fibroblasts, Archives of Dermatological Research 303: 563-572 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00403-010-1114-8

Huang Y.H., Zhang S.H., Zhen R.X., Xu X.D., and Zhen Y.S., 2004, Asiaticoside inducing apoptosis of tumor cells and enhancing the anti-tumor activity of vincristine, Chinese Journal of Cancer, 23: 1599–1604

Yoshida M., Fuchigami M., Nagao T., Okabe H., Matsunaga K., Takata J., Karube Y., Tsuchihashi R., Kinjo J., and Mihashi K., 2005, Antiproliferative constituents from Umbelliferae plants VII. Active triterpenes and rosmarinic acid from Centella asiatica, Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 28: 173–175 http://dx.doi.org/10.1248/bpb.28.173

There are a lot of studies on other diseases listed in the original link as well. Could we include some of these in the article?

Judderwocky (talk) 01:17, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Only if they meet the criteria of WP:MEDRS. I don't think any of these do. Alexbrn talk 04:35, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Never mind I found the Wikipedia page covering some of the journals. Food and Chemical Toxicology, for instance, isn't acceptable, and looks like some of the others aren't either.


 * U of M seems supportive as well: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/gotu-kola Kortoso (talk) 21:25, 24 April 2014 (UTC)
 * The Univ Maryland website has no information on anti-cancer evidence for this herb.David notMD (talk) 10:58, 22 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I came across the following page, which has a list of references that might be useful if they meet the usual criteria. https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/gotu-kola I haven't checked for duplicates against the previous list or checked the sources on MEDRS, I just threw this in so it doesn't get lost, in case it may be useful to others or myself if I jump in and start editing. -- (talk) 00:54, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Habitat section should specify locations where it is found
Description indicates it only grows in the tropics. That information should be specified in the Habitat section. On NIH website I found this information: "It is found in most tropical and subtropical countries growing in swampy areas, including parts of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and South Africa and South pacific and Eastern Europe." Is that accurate? I don't usually consider Eastern Europe to be in the tropics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Swillmarth (talk • contribs) 16:32, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

More evidence needed?
I see that only one reference has been cited for the medicinal properties of CA. I wonder if that is sufficient, especially when the paper referenced is titled "A Potential Herbal Cure-All"? Whenever the term "cure-all" is used, there should be a lot of skepticism around it, and other independent research papers should be cited to make an objective evaluation of the claims made in the original paper. I also have noticed that the "See Also" subsection contains "List of ineffective cancer treatments". A closer look needs to be taken at the supposed medicinal properties of CA, perhaps? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Knaveknight (talk • contribs) 14:21, 12 May 2015 (UTC)
 * I agree. Per guidelines at WP:MEDRS, medical claims should only be made if they can be sourced to high quality secondary sources.  In this case, the information was sourced only to a low quality primary source. Independent of this, the text was plagiarized from the cited source and was therefore a copyright violation.  Consequently, I have simply removed the section.  Deli nk (talk) 14:28, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

lack of traditonal medicine uses
The lack of a section addressing the traditional medicine uses of this plant in wide areas of Asia leaves the article looking POV, parochial and lacking in globalism. S.E. Asian people are major users of this plant. Ignoring their written material on this subject is akin to focussing on material produced by Amazonian Indians about that very useful piece of clothing the parka while ignoring material on the parka from arctic areas. WP is an encyclopdia. It's purpose is to present a NPOV overview of notable material from reliable sources. This includes material on how this plant is viewed and used in cultures with cosmologies that are not scientifically rational. This article is a fail. 124.171.73.125 (talk) 03:45, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Modern Western Herbalism
We use it primarily as a memory and cognition aid, which has little to no mention in this article. If anyone decides to include modern uses of this plant see: Modern Herbal Medicine by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne 173.170.4.6 (talk) 15:35, 16 November 2016 (UTC)
 * One reference for a small clinical trial follows, but the literature is scant, and there does not appear to be a good review for cognitive benefits.David notMD (talk) 10:52, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

Wattanathorn J, Mator L, et al. Positive modulation of cognition and mood in the healthy elderly volunteer following the administration of Centella asiatica. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008 Mar 5;116(2):325-32. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.11.038. PubMed PMID:18191355.

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Indonesian culinary usage
The dish referred to is actually called: “Sambai Oen Peugaga” in the local dialect of Aceh. 124.150.69.46 (talk) 03:18, 9 October 2022 (UTC)