Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Jan;23(1):4-14.

Recent Updates in Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Potential of Centella asiatica

Yogeswaran Lokanathan  1 , Norazzila Omar  1 , Nur Nabilah Ahmad Puzi  1 , Aminuddin Saim  2 , Ruszymah Hj Idrus  3
Affiliations
Review

Recent Updates in Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Potential of Centella asiatica

Yogeswaran Lokanathan et al. Malays J Med Sci. 2016 Jan.

Abstract

Centella asiatica, locally well known in Malaysia as pegaga, is a traditional herb that has been used widely in Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and in the traditional medicine of other Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia. Although consumption of the plant is indicated for various illnesses, its potential neuroprotective properties have been well studied and documented. In addition to past studies, recent studies also discovered and/or reconfirmed that C. asiatica acts as an antioxidant, reducing the effect of oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. At the in vitro level, C. asiatica promotes dendrite arborisation and elongation, and also protects the neurons from apoptosis. In vivo studies have shown that the whole extract and also individual compounds of C. asiatica have a protective effect against various neurological diseases. Most of the in vivo studies on neuroprotective effects have focused on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, learning and memory enhancement, neurotoxicity and other mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, and epilepsy. Recent studies have embarked on finding the molecular mechanism of neuroprotection by C. asiatica extract. However, the capability of C. asiatica in enhancing neuroregeneration has not been studied much and is limited to the regeneration of crushed sciatic nerves and protection from neuronal injury in hypoxia conditions. More studies are still needed to identify the compounds and the mechanism of action of C. asiatica that are particularly involved in neuroprotection and neuroregeneration. Furthermore, the extraction method, biochemical profile and dosage information of the C. asiatica extract need to be standardised to enhance the economic value of this traditional herb and to accelerate the entry of C. asiatica extracts into modern medicine.

Keywords: antioxidant; neurological disease; neuronal injury; neuroprotective; pegaga.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Yazid AG, Anuar A, Onhmar HT, Ng AM, Ruszymah BH, Amaramalar SN. Sourcing different neuro-progenitor cell for the use of nerve construct. Med J Malaysia. 2008;63( Suppl A):113–114. - PubMed
    1. Hj Idrus Ruszymah AA, Ab Rahim F, Saim A. Clinical translation of cell therapy, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine product in Malaysia and its regulatory policy. Tissue Eng Part A. 2015;21(23–24):2812–2816. doi: 10.1089/ten.tea.2014.0521. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hidayah N, Fadzli A, Ng M, Ruszymah B, Naicker A, Shalimar A, et al. Porous PLGA sheet and acellularized muscle stuffed vein seeded with neural-differentiated MSCs are potential scaffolds for nerve regeneration. Regen Res. 2012;1:1–7.
    1. Tan CW, Ng MH, Ohnmar H, Lokanathan Y, Nur-Hidayah H, Roohi SA, Ruszymah BHI, Nor-Hazla MH, Shalimar A, Naicker AS. Sciatic nerve repair with tissue engineered nerve: Olfactory ensheathing cells seeded poly(lactic-co-glygolic acid) conduit in an animal model. Indian J Orthop. 2013;47(6):547–552. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yogeswaran L, Min HN, Shariful H, Anuar A, Mazzre M, Ohnmar H, Sharifah AR, Ruszymah HI, Shalimar A, Amaramalar SN. Olfactory ensheathing cells seeded muscle-stuffed vein as nerve conduit for peripheral nerve repair: A nerve conduction study. J Biosci Bioeng. 2014;118(2):231–234. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources