CENTELLA ASIATICA (L.)URB.: THE HERBAL ELIXIR OF EASTERN MEDICINE NATURES REMEDY FOR BRAIN AND SKIN WELLNESS

Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., commonly known as gotukola or Mandook parni is a valuable herb of importance known and mentioned in Ayurveda as well as traditional Chinese medicine literature. It belongs to the family Apiaceae with widespread distribution around the world. Tribals or forest dwellers collect it from the wild and sell in the market as vegetable and medicinal herb that bring them a regular income with no investment. But as herb reproduces by vegetative reproduction primarily it could be a threat in the form of overexploitation in absence of awareness among collectors who are usually from rural background. There is a high demand of this herb in national as well as international markets due to its ethnobotanical uses as well as for its products used for pharmaceutical as well as food industry purposes besides other commercial uses of wider applications. Active biochemicals present in this herb are triterpenoids as Asiaticoside, Madecassocide, Asiatic acid, flavanoids, alkaloids and essential oils etc. that provide it dermatologic al, neuroprotective, antioxidant,anti inflammatory, anti cancer, antimicr obial and hepatoprotective etc. properties. Many advancements are going to develop techniques for enhancement and extraction of these secondary metabolites in vitro culture with the help of various biotechn ological tools that are required for conservation of this valuable herb.