Centella asiatica

Propagation

Asiatica reproduces both by stolon and seed.[1]

Germination

Germination in the dark almost completely inhibits germination. Exposure to far red and blue light reduces germination considerably. Exposure to red light promotes germination slightly.[2]

Fresh seeds do not germinate. Two-month-old seeds have the highest germination with a progressive decline until complete loss of viability at 30 months when stored at room temperature.[2]

There are no significant differences between the control (petri dish on a lab desk) and pretreatments with GA3 solutions, 10% HNO3, or 40 °C water. However, soaking in 60 °C water significantly reduces germination. GA3 solutions increased the speed of germination by two weeks. Salt stress above 500 ppm reduces germination considerably.[2]

In contrast, agar supplemented with 1 mg/l GA3 achieved the highest germination rate (83%) compared to either more or less, with a consistent normal distribution for the effect.[3]

The seed color goes from an immature green color, to mature yellow, then to dormant brown. Immature seeds and dormant seeds have low germination potential. There were heterogeneous effects of GA3 exposure. However, this study was terminated after 8 weeks which precludes the common germination of asiatica after the two-month mark.[4]

Vegetative

Asiatica can be easily propagated by stolon cuttings planted directly in the soil.[5] Alternatively, one or two node cuttings can be taken from the stems and planted directly.[6]

In-Vitro

Asiatica can be propagated by somatic embrogenesis.[7][8][9][10][11]

Cultivation

Harvest

Asiatica provides continual harvest without the need for replanting.[5]

Water accounts for roughly half of the harvest weight.[6]

Yield

Harvested biomass is approximately 80% water.[5]

Soilless

Deep water hydroponic culture (Hoagland solution, intermittent aeration) is effective in producing centellosides comparable to field culture. However, a 6-7 week production cycle is warranted due to variations in active constituent production with senescence. The concentration of active constituents was more predictable with hydroponics than with traditional field cultivation.[6]

Soil

Asiatica is tolerant to a wide range of soil pH, from 6.0-9.0.[5] It also tolerates a wide range of soil types, from heavy clay to sandy.[1]

Fertilization

Asiatica is not tolerant of dry conditions and requires large amounts of water.[5] Their root systems can survive entirely submerged in water.[1]

Soil can be amended with an initial 2.6 tonnes/ha cow manure and 870 kg/ha neem cake followed by the same dose of manure every 4-6 months.[5]

Temperature

Lighting

Pests

Asiatica is not seriously compromised by any pests including weeds and disease.[5]

Morphology

Native to Asia.[1]

Roots

Stem

Creeping. Stems reach up to 1 meter in length.[1]

Leaves

Leaves are arranged in a rosette.[1]

Inflorescence

Seeds

Seeds are slightly kidney-shaped, about 2.8 mm long by 1.8 mm wide weighing about 1.3 g/1000 seeds.[2]

Phytochemistry

The active constituent concentration varies considerably between ecotypes.[6]

Infraspecific Variation

Biosynthesis

Distribution

Timecourse

Improvement

Identification

Inheritance

Methods

History & Society

Work Log

Bibliography

1. Ononamandimby, {\relax ANTSONANTENAINAIRIVONY}, Strategies De Reproduction De Centella Asiatica L. Urb.(talapetraka) Dans Deux Regions Soumises a Des Regimes De Recolte Contrastes, October 2010. url: http://biblio.univ-antananarivo.mg/pdfs/antsonantenainarivonyOnonamandimby_SN_M2_10.pdf.
2. Devkota, Anjana and Jha, Pramod Kumar, Seed Germination Responses of the Medicinal Herb Centella Asiatica, Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 143--150, 2010. doi: 10.1590/S1677-04202010000200008. Abstract
   The effect of several environmental factors on germination of medicinal herb Centella asiatica was investigated. Freshly harvested seeds of C. asiatica did not germinate even after gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment and exposure to different treatments with light qualities, while two-three months old seeds exhibited germination (82\%) without pre-treatment at warm environment (25 -30°C). GA3 treatment induced germination by two weeks earlier than in control. Germination was significantly (p=0.001) higher in red and white light than in blue and far red light. In addition, germination of C. asiatica was sensitive towards the salt stress and was significantly inhibited at 6500 ppm NaCl. The leaf leachates from invasive weeds Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum conyzoides, Parthenium hysterophorus and Xanthium strumarium showed inhibitory effects on seed germination of C. asiatica. Parthenium hysterophorus had significant effect (p{$<$}0.001) on seed germination. These data contribute for the establishing of an efficient protocol for C. asiatica cultivation.
3. G, Suryakala and {i} and Giri, Archana, Standardization of Protocol for High Frequency Seed Germination and Direct Regeneration in Centella Asiatica (L.) Urban: An Important Medicinal Plant, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, vol. 6, no. 10, October 2014. url: https://www.jocpr.com/abstract/standardization-of-protocol-for-high-frequency-seed-germination-and-direct-regeneration-in-centella-asiatica-l-urban-an--3633.html. Abstract
   Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, a stoloniferous herb belonging to the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), is a slender creeping herb with roots originating from the nodes. The plant commonly called ‘Indian pennywort’ or ‘Gotukola’, is used in the preparation of Ayurvedic brain tonic. The plant produces a group of pentacyclic triterpenes known as “Centellosides” that include asiaticoside, madecassoside, thankuniside, sceffoleoside, brahminoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid etc. Since, these centellosides are mainly present in the aerial parts of the plant, indiscriminate harvest of plants from the natural habitats can be prevented by developing a protocol for a rapid and high frequency regeneration. In the present study, 28.4±1.14 shoots were obtained from single nodal explant on MS media supplemented with 2 mg/l BAP. Also, high seed germination (83\%) rate was achieved that would benefit conservation of the medicinally important plant, C. asiatica. Moreover, high frequency regeneration from nodal explants would be a potential tool for the study of metabolic engineering aspects leading to the enhanced production of secondary metabolites
4. Novianti, C. and Purbaningsih, S. and Salamah, A., The Effect of Different Pericarp Color on Seed Germination of Centella Asiatica (L.) Urban, AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 1729, no. 1, pp. 020064, April 2016. doi: 10.1063/1.4946967.
5. Vigyan, Dravyaguna and Gandhi, Mahatma, Cost Effective Cultivation of Centella Asiatica Linn. (Mandukparni) – A Pilot Study, Journal of Research in Traditional Medicine, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 135--137, January 2017. doi: 10.21276/jrtm.2017/345. Abstract
   Background: Centella asiatica is widely used in pharmaceutical companies in various Ayurvedic formulations. Although over exploitation of the species is now widespread due to high market demand and it's used as a substitute of Bacopa monnieri, no serious effort has been made for its planned cultivation. Aim: To create awareness in cultivation of medicinal plant, C. asiatica and whether its cultivation is cost effective as compare to traditional crops. Materials and methods: Cultivation of C. asiatica L. was done over 5000 square feet area of round type II- poly house.Mother plants were procured from the herbal garden, Mahatma Gandhi Ayurved College, Hospital and research Centre, Salod, Wardha, Maharashtra. Analysis of soil was done for the quantication of micronutrients showing Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Iron, Zinc, Copper, Salt, Organic carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and pH. The land was given thorough preparatory tillage. For cultivation, plant cuttings along with root were used. The cuttings were transplanted in wet soil at spacing of 30 cm. in dual row with in between space of 30 cm. in the month of December 2012. First irrigation was given just after transplantation and harvesting was done in the month of April 2013 i.e. after 4th month of cultivation. Later harvesting was done at an interval of 1-2 month throughout the year. Result: Cost-Prot Analysis of Mandukparni (Centella asiatica) was calculated for per acre/year. Excluding all expenditure, the Net income per acre/year was Rs. 1,20,600. Conclusion: Successful cultivation of this plant is economically eye-catching provided marketing is not a problem. Better management can results in much higher income and net prot as compare to traditional crop.
6. Prasad, Archana and Pragadheesh, V. S. and Mathur, Archana and Srivastava, N. K. and Singh, Manju and Mathur, A. K., Growth and Centelloside Production in Hydroponically Established Medicinal Plant-Centella Asiatica (L.), Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 309--312, January 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2011.06.020. Abstract
   Conditions to cultivate medicinally important herb Centella asiatica in hydroponic system are reported here for the first time. Growth kinetics of hydroponically grown plants was monitored over a period of 70 days. The maximum growth and dry matter accumulation (156.3\% increment over the initial inoculum weight) in the cultured plants occurred around 42nd day. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the bioactive centellosides in the crude triterpenoids extract of the harvested leaves showed the presence of 11mg, 1.7mg, 36.6mg and 6.3mg of madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid and asiatic acid on per gram dry weight basis, respectively. The results of this study suggest that the cultivation of C. asiatica in hydroponic systems can be an effective platform for the production of clean and good quality C. asiatica herb for the pharmaceutical companies.
7. Kunta, Rohini Kiran and Mani, N. Sarada, Effect of Hormones and Sucrose on Maturation of Somatic Embryos in Centella Asiatica And Its Qualitative Analysis., Journal of Current Pharma Research, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 450--452, November 2011. doi: 10.33786/JCPR.2011.v02i01.013. Abstract
   Somatic embryos were obtained from explants of Centella asiatica cultured on MS medium containing different concentrations and combinations of auxins and cytokinins. Somatic embryos upon maturation on MS basal medium 2,4D (2mg/L) + IAA (3mg/L) and shoot regeneration was obtained on MS medium containing BAP (2mg/l) + IBA (1mg/L). Regenerated shoots with rooting transferred to field conditions grew normally.
8. Hanumantharaya, B. G. and Sathyanarayana, B. N. and Waman, A. A. and Guruprakash, R. G., High Frequency Somatic Embryogenesis in Indian Pennywort (Centella Asiatica L.)., Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 451--456, 2011. url: https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20123295163. Abstract
   Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica L.), 'The intelligence imparter', is an important medicinal herb due to its memory enhancing property. The natural wild populations of the species are under threat due to lack of organized cultivation coupled with uncontrolled exploitation. An effort was therefore made in this study to develop a protocol for high frequency plantlet regeneration through somatic...
9. Joshee, Nirmal and Biswas, Bipul K. and Yadav, Anand K., Somatic Embryogenesis and Plant Development in Centella Asiatica L., a Highly Prized Medicinal Plant of the Tropics, HortScience, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 633--637, June 2007. doi: 10.21273/HORTSCI.42.3.633. Abstract
   {$<$}section class="abstract"{$><$}p{$>$}Past research experience with Centella asiatica micropropagation suggests a very high rate of contamination during the culture establishment stage. We demonstrate protocols for successful sterilization of Centella explants prepared from field-grown plants with an abundance of fungal and bacterial contamination. Sequential steps during sterilization and explant preparation process included a dip for 30 s in 70\% ethyl alcohol, weak bleach treatment for 12 min, and a 60-min soak in plant preservative mixture before establishing cultures. We also report a reproducible system for somatic embryogenesis in Centella using leaf and stolon tip explants collected from naturally growing populations. Somatic embryos were induced within 3 to 4 weeks of culture in the dark on (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Initial embryogenic mass appeared as nodular callus, which eventually developed into actual somatic embryos exhibiting globular, heart-shaped, and cotyledonary stages. Leaves produced embryogenic calli at 2.26 and 4.52 μ\textsc{m} 2,4-D, whereas stolon tips were responsive only in the 9.04 μ\textsc{m} 2,4-D treatment. Withdrawal of 2,4-D/growth regulators from the induction medium resulted in the maturation and further development of the embryos into plantlets. Regular subculturing of the embryogenic calli into MS medium sustained their regenarability for more than 1 year. Somatic embryos were individually encapsulated in sodium alginate and calcium chloride-based encapsulation matrix to produce artificial or synthetic seeds (synseeds). Synseeds with 2\% sodium alginate were found best for the survival and germination recorded after their storage at 5 to 8 °C for 30 and 60 days. We report protocols for C. asiatica to reduce explant contamination before establishment of cultures on somatic embryo induction medium and efficient somatic embryogenesis to facilitate conservation and mass production of elite germplasm. This may further assist rapid dissemination of superior clones needed for research and commercial production.{$<$}/p{$><$}/section{$>$}
10. Paramageetham, {\relax Ch}. and Prasad Babu, G. and Rao, J.V.S., Somatic Embryogenesis in Centella Asiatica L. an Important Medicinal and Neutraceutical Plant of India, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 19--24, October 2004. doi: 10.1023/B:TICU.0000049427.27937.d2. Abstract
    Leaf segments excised from Centella asiatica, a medicinal and neutraceutical plant, produced abundant somaticembryoswhen cultured onMS mediumwith 9.29 μMkinetin in combination with 2.26 μM2,4-D. Granular, white,shiny clusters of callus developed after 1 week of culture, and then formed heart and cotyledonary stage embryoson the same medium after 4 weeks. Somatic embryos matured and germinated in the presence of MS mediumcontaining 2.32 μM kinetin with (2.89μM) GA3. Plantlets were successfully transferred to pots containing amixture of soil and vermiculite (1:1).
11. George, Satheesh and shree B, Rema and Tushar, K.V. and AV, Raghu and Hariharan, Molly and Benjamin, Prof. Sailas, Somatic Embryogenesis and Organogenesis in Centella Asiatica., Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants, vol. 6, pp. 241-243., January 2006.