Herbaceous perennial in Apiaceae
Plant, compounds, label
Centella asiatica is a herbaceous perennial in the Apiaceae family, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia and western Pacific islands. About 124 chemical compounds have been isolated from it, including the triterpenes asiaticoside and madecassoside. This page explains what those compounds are and how to read them on a cica cream label.
Herbaceous perennial in Apiaceae
Four common English names
Blooms under 3 mm
Three months to maturity
Chromosome-level genome, 2021
INCI names carry the constituents
A herbaceous perennial in the Apiaceae family with common names Asiatic pennywort, spadeleaf, coinwort and gotu kola.
Centella asiatica is a herbaceous perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is known in English under several common names: Asiatic pennywort, spadeleaf, coinwort and gotu kola.
Its hermaphrodite flowers are minute, less than 3 mm in size, with five to six corolla lobes per flower, five stamens and two styles. Grown as a crop, the plant matures in three months and the whole plant including the roots is harvested manually.
Centella individuals are diploid, tetraploid or hexaploid, with chromosome counts of 2n = 18, 36 or 54. A chromosome-level genome of Centella asiatica was published in 2021.
About 124 chemical compounds have been isolated, with triterpenes asiaticoside and madecassoside among the named constituents.
Approximately 124 chemical compounds have been isolated from Centella asiatica. The triterpene compounds include asiaticoside and madecassoside, also named brahmoside.
Other constituents recorded for the plant are centellose and centelloside. These names are the ones that appear on raw-material specifications and, in their Latinised forms, on finished-product labels.
Match each INCI entry to a known constituent or to the whole-plant extract.
A cica label uses INCI names. Centella Asiatica Extract stands for material derived from the plant; Asiaticoside and Madecassoside are the individual triterpenes listed separately when a formula isolates them.
Asiatic Acid and Madecassic Acid are the corresponding acid forms of the same triterpene family. The full ordered procedure for checking an ingredient list is set out on the label-reading page.
Short entries keyed to the measured properties of the plant.
Native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia and islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in swampy temperate and tropical areas.
The plant is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia and islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Centella grows in temperate and tropical swampy areas in many regions of the world.
In its regions of distribution it is consumed as a culinary vegetable. Grown as a crop it reaches maturity in three months, after which the whole plant including the roots is harvested by hand.
| Property | Value | Unit or note |
|---|---|---|
| Isolated compounds | ≈124 | chemical compounds isolated from the plant |
| Flower size | <3 mm | hermaphrodite flower diameter |
| Corolla lobes per flower | 5–6 | with 5 stamens and 2 styles |
| Crop maturity | 3 months | whole plant harvested manually, roots included |
| Chromosome count | 2n = 18 / 36 / 54 | diploid, tetraploid or hexaploid |
| Genome | 2021 | chromosome-level genome published |
| Named triterpenes | 4 | asiaticoside, madecassoside, centellose, centelloside |
Compiled from published descriptions of Centella asiatica; no commercial sources are used.