Affiliation: | 1. Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Kolkata, India Contribution: Conceptualization (supporting), Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Writing - original draft (equal);2. Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India Contribution: Formal analysis (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting);3. Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting);4. Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India;5. Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division, ICAR – Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, India Contribution: Validation (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting);6. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, India Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting);7. Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Guwahati, India Contribution: Writing - review & editing (supporting);8. Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland;9. Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones científicas (CSIS), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain;10. Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India |
Abstract: | Centella asiatica is an ethnomedicinal herbaceous species that grows abundantly in tropical and sub-tropical regions of China, India, South-Eastern Asia and Africa. It is a popular nutraceutical that is employed in various forms of clinical and cosmetic treatments. C. asiatica extracts are reported widely in Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine to boost memory, prevent cognitive deficits and improve brain functions. The major bioactive constituents of C. asiatica are the pentacyclic triterpenoid glycosides, asiaticoside and madecassoside, and their corresponding aglycones, asiatic acid and madecassic acid. Asiaticoside and madecassoside have been identified as the marker compounds of C. asiatica in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and these triterpene compounds offer a wide range of pharmacological properties, including neuroprotective, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-allergic, anti-depressant, anxiolytic, antifibrotic, antibacterial, anti-arthritic, anti-tumour and immunomodulatory activities. Asiaticoside and madecassoside are also used extensively in treating skin abnormalities, burn injuries, ischaemia, ulcers, asthma, lupus, psoriasis and scleroderma. Besides medicinal applications, these phytocompounds are considered cosmetically beneficial for their role in anti-ageing, skin hydration, collagen synthesis, UV protection and curing scars. Existing reports and experimental studies on these compounds between 2005 and 2022 have been selectively reviewed in this article to provide a comprehensive overview of the numerous therapeutic advantages of asiaticoside and madecassoside and their potential roles in the medical future. |