Uses of Centella asiatica

Centella asiatica commonly known as pennywort and Asiatic pennywort, is an herbaceous perennial in the flowering plant family Umbelliferae.It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia and the islands of the Western Pacific.It is used as a culinary vegetable and in traditional medicine.Centella asiatica grows in temperate and tropical swampy areas in many parts of the world. Stems are slender, stolons, green to reddish green in color, that connect plants to each other.It has a long stalk, green, rounded tip, smooth texture, and palmate reticulation of veins.The leaves are on pericladial petioles, [clarification needed] about 2 cm (0.79 in). Rootstocks consist of rhizomes that grow vertically downward.They are cream in color and covered with root hairs.

The flowers are white or crimson and grow in small, round bouquets (umbels) near the soil surface.Part of each flower is enclosed by two green bracts.The hermaphroditic flowers are small, less than 3 mm (0.12 in), each with five to six corolla lobes.Each flower has five stamens and two styles.The fruit is densely reticulated, unlike the Hydrocotyle species which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit.The crop matures within three months, and the entire plant, including the roots, is harvested by hand.It is a highly invasive plant and has been rated as "high risk".Centella asiatica has many common names in its distribution area.

Uses

In Burmese cuisine, raw buckweed is used as the main ingredient in salads, mixed with onions, crushed peanuts, soy flour, and seasoned with lime juice and fish sauce.Centella asiatica is used as a leafy vegetable in Sri Lankan cuisine and is the main local supply of leafy greens, known locally as gotu kola.It is most commonly served as malluma, a traditional accompaniment to rice and vegetarian dishes such as dal, jackfruit or pumpkin curry.It is considered nutritious. In addition to chopped gotu kola plant, gotu kola malluma is served with grated coconut, diced shallots, lime (or lemon) juice, and sea salt.Other ingredients are chopped green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric powder or chopped carrots. Centella asiatica fruit structure is discarded from gotu kola malluma due to its strong bitter taste.In Sri Lanka, a porridge called kola kenda is also made with gotu kola.Gotu kola kenda is made from cooked red rice with some extra liquid, coconut milk first extract and gotu kola purée.The porridge is served with jaggery for sweetness. Centella leaves are also used in modern sweet vermouth and herbal teas.Alternatively, the leaves are sautéed whole in coconut oil or cooked in coconut milk with garlic or dal.

In Indonesia, the leaves are used in sambai oi peuga-ga, an Aceh salad, and are also mixed into asinan in Bogor.In Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, the leaves are used to make drinks, or can be eaten raw in salads or cold rolls.In Bangkok, vendors at the Chatuchak weekend market sell it alongside coconuts, roselles, chrysanthemums, oranges and other healthy drinks.In Malay cuisine, it is called pegaga, and the leaves of the plant are used to make ulam, a vegetable salad.C. asiatica is widely used in various Indian regional cuisines.In Bangladesh and India (especially in West Bengal),Centella asiatica is known as Thankuni Pata and is used in a variety of dishes, one of the most appetizing being a pakora-like snack called Thankuni Patar Bora; Centella asiatica, lentils, chopped onions and green chillies.