Medicinal plant details
Centella asiatica(L.) Urban
(Brahmi)
| Common name | Brahmi |
| Habit | Herb |
| Habitat | Stream banks and swampy areas |
| Parts used | Whole plant |
Synonyms
| Sr. No. | Synonyms |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trisanthus cochinchinensis Lour. |
| 2 | Centella asiatica var. crista Makino |
| 3 | Centella boninensis Nakai ex Tuyama |
| 4 | Centella coriacea Nannf. |
| 5 | Centella glochidiata Drude |
| 6 | Centella hirtella Nannf. |
| 7 | Centella tussilaginifolia Domin |
| 8 | Centella ulugurensis Domin |
| 9 | Centella uniflora Nannf. |
| 10 | Chondrocarpus asiaticus Nutt. |
| 11 | Chondrocarpus triflorus Nutt. |
| 12 | Glyceria asiatica Nutt. |
| 13 | Glyceria triflora Nutt. |
| 14 | Hydrocotyle abyssinica Gand. |
| 15 | Hydrocotyle artensis Montrouz. |
| 16 | Hydrocotyle asiatica L. |
| 17 | Hydrocotyle asiatica var. monantha F.Muell. |
| 18 | Hydrocotyle dentata A.Rich. |
| 19 | Hydrocotyle hebecarpa DC. |
| 20 | Hydrocotyle indivisa Banks & Sol. ex Hook.f. |
| 21 | Hydrocotyle lunata Lam. |
| 22 | Hydrocotyle pallida DC. |
| 23 | Hydrocotyle sarmentosa Salisb. |
| 24 | Hydrocotyle thunbergiana Spreng. |
| 25 | Hydrocotyle ulugurensis Engl. |
| 26 | Hydrocotyle uniflora Colenso |
| 27 | Hydrocotyle brevipes DC. |
| 28 | Hydrocotyle tussilaginifolia Baker |
| 29 | Hydrocotyle ficarioides Lam. |
| 30 | Hydrocotyle nummularioides A.Rich. |
| 31 | Hydrocotyle sylvicola Cordem. |
| 32 | Hydrocotyle reniformis Walter |
| 33 | Hydrocotyle ficarifolia Stokes |
| 34 | Hydrocotyle biflora Vell. |
| 35 | Hydrocotyle inaequipes DC. |
| 36 | Hydrocotyle brasiliensis Scheidw. |
| 37 | Hydrocotyle brevipedata St.-Lag. |
| 38 | Centella asiatica var. asiatica |
| 39 | Hydrocotyle abbreviata A.Rich. |
| 40 | Hydrocotyle lurida Hance |
Taxonomical information
| Kingdom | Viridiplantae |
| Phylum | Streptophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Apiales |
| Family | Apiaceae |
| Genus | Centella |
| Species | Centella asiatica (L.) Urban |
Vernacular names
| Sanskrit | Mandukaparni |
| English | Indian pennywort |
| Hindi | Brahma manduki |
| Kannada | Ondelaga, Brahmi soppu |
| Marathi | Karinga |
| Malayalam | Kodangal, Kudakan |
| Bengali | Bora Thulkari |
| Tamil | Vallarai |
| Telugu | Saraswataku |
| Urdu |
Morphology
Slender creeping herb, roots attached to the nodes. Stem which is green to reddish green in colour slender with creeping stolonas. Leaves are sub-orbicular, reniform, 1.3-7 cm in diameter long. Flowers sessile, white or pinkish to red in colour, 3-6 flowered umbels. Each flower is partly covered with two green bracts. Fruits are small, ovoid, compressed, 8 mm long, mericarps laterally compressed, rounded at the top, broad and 7-9 ridged. Seeds compressed laterally and greyish green colour and bittersweet in taste
Distribution
Distributed globally in Asia, Africa, Australia, Southern United States of America, Central America and South America. Within India, found in Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu
Medicinal uses
CNS disorders like epilepsy, schizophrenia and cognitive dysfunction. Renal stones, leprosy and skin diseases, anorexia and asthma
References
| 1 | Vattakaven, T., George, R. M., Balasubramanian, D., Rejou-Mechain, M., Muthusankar, G., Ramesh, B. R., and Prabhakar, R. (2016). India Biodiversity Portal: An integrated, interactive and participatory biodiversity informatics platform. Biodiversity Data Journal, 4, e10279. |
| 2 | Arora, D., Kumar, M., and Dubey, S. D. (2002). Centella asiatica-A review of it's medicinal uses and pharmacological effects. Journal of Natural remedies, 2, 143-149. |
| 3 | Gohil, K. J., Patel, J. A., and Gajjar, A. K. (2010). Pharmacological review on Centella asiatica: a potential herbal cure-all. Indian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 72, 546. |