CENTELLA ASIATICA

Its positive effects on brain aging have been generally attributed to its two major triterpene saponosides; asiatic and madecassic acids as well as their heterosides; asiaticoside and madecassoside, respectively. The hydroalcoholic extract of the plant was tested in vitro against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the key enzyme taking a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease (Since deficit in the level of acetylcholine (ACh), which is hydrolyzed by AChE, has been identified in the brains of AD patients, inhibition of AChE as well as its sister enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) has become a rational target in drug development against AD. The extract was found to inhibit AChE with 50% of inhibition rate at 150 μg/mL concentration by the spectrophotometric method of Ellman. Awad et al. investigated inhibitory property of C. asiatica extract towards glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and γ-aminobutyric acid transaminase (GABA-T), which are the enzymes responsible for GABA metabolism and found out that the extract stimulated the activity of GAD over 40%. The aqueous extract of C. asiatica caused a serious decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) and an increase in glutathione and CAT levels were recorded, which led to a final suggestion by the authors that C. asiatica extract has a positive effect on memory that is also related to its remarkable antioxidant effect.

PUBLISHED ARTICLES : 

** Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:946259.doi: 10.1155/2012/946259. Epub 2012 May 14.

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine with Neuroprotective Potential

** 2021 Dec 16;12:788312.doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.788312. eCollection 2021.

Centella asiatica Alters Metabolic Pathways Associated With Alzheimer's Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of ß-Amyloid Accumulation

** J Alzheimers Dis. 2015;45(3):933-46.doi: 10.3233/JAD-142217.

Centella asiatica Attenuates Amyloid-β-Induced Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

** Neurosci Lett. 2017 Apr 12;646:24-29.doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.02.072. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ-induced neurodegenerative spine loss and dendritic simplification

** Int J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;2012:381974.doi: 10.1155/2012/381974. Epub 2012 Feb 15.

Centella asiatica Extract Improves Behavioral Deficits in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease: Investigation of a Possible Mechanism of Action

** Antioxidants (Basel). 2019 Dec 8;8(12):630.doi: 10.3390/antiox8120630.

Centella Asiatica Improves Memory and Promotes Antioxidative Signaling in 5XFAD Mice

** Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr 16;20(8):1871.doi: 10.3390/ijms20081871.

Centella asiatica Protects d-Galactose/AlCl3 Mediated Alzheimer's Disease-Like Rats via PP2A/GSK-3β Signaling Pathway in Their Hippocampus

** Front Physiol. 2021 Oct 14;12:712317.doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.712317. eCollection 2021.

Hypoxia-Induced Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease: Potential Neuroprotective Effects of Centella asiatica

** Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 29;12:687935.doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.687935.

Mitoprotective Effects of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.: Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Opportunities in Neurodegenerative Disease

** Malays J Med Sci. 2016 Jan;23(1):4-14.

Recent Updates in Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Potential of Centella asiatica