Cited by 72Medicinal Plants and NeuroprotectionPhytochemicals and Medicinal PlantsNatural product bioactivities and synthesis

Actions and Therapeutic Potential of Madecassoside and Other Major Constituents of Centella asiatica: A Review

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Tan, Swee Ching, Bhattamisra, Subrat Kumar, Chellappan, Dinesh Kumar, Candasamy, Mayuren·2021·Applied Sciences

Abstract

Centella asiatica is a popular herb well-known for its wide range of therapeutic effects and its use as a folk medicine for many years. Its therapeutic properties have been well correlated with the presence of asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic and madecassic acids, the pentacyclic triterpenes. The herb has been extensively known to treat skin conditions; nevertheless, several pre-clinical and clinical studies have scientifically demonstrated its effectiveness in other disorders. Among the active constituents that have been identified in Centella asiatica, madecassoside has been the subject of only a relatively small number of scientific reports. Therefore, this review, while including other major constituents of this plant, focuses on the therapeutic potential, pharmacokinetics and toxicity of madecassoside.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/app11188475

Cites

246 of 246 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Centella asiatica's major bioactive constituents include triterpenoid saponins such as asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid.

    “Its major bioactive constituents include triterpenoid saponins such as asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid [19,20,21].”

    From A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Assessing the Effects of Oral Centella asiatica Extract on Skin Aging-Related Parameters in Middle-Aged Korean Women. (2026) · cites this paper as [19]

    Section 3, “Active Constituents of C. asiatica” (page not supplied), identifies all four as major bioactive compounds. It classifies asiaticoside and madecassoside as saponins, but asiatic acid and madecassic acid as their aglycones (sapogenins), not saponins. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Preclinical studies have demonstrated that Centella asiatica compounds exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, promote fibroblast proliferation, enhance collagen synthesis, and protect extracellular matrix integrity.

    “Preclinical studies have demonstrated that these compounds exhibit potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, promote fibroblast proliferation, enhance collagen synthesis, and protect extracellular matrix integrity [16,17,19,22,23,24].”

    From A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Assessing the Effects of Oral Centella asiatica Extract on Skin Aging-Related Parameters in Middle-Aged Korean Women. (2026) · cites this paper as [19]

    Section 6.1 reports that madecassoside and asiaticoside promote fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis, and describes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical models. Section 6.2 reports that madecassoside inhibits MMP-13, an enzyme that damages cartilage collagen. These findings are consistent with some protection of matrix components, but the review does not establish the broader claim that the compounds protect extracellular matrix integrity generally. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The observed improvements in skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkle parameters may be associated with the biological activities of Centella asiatica-derived triterpenoids.

    “The observed improvements in skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkle parameters may be associated with the biological activities of Centella asiatica-derived triterpenoids, as reported in previous studies [16,19,33].”

    From A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Assessing the Effects of Oral Centella asiatica Extract on Skin Aging-Related Parameters in Middle-Aged Korean Women. (2026) · cites this paper as [19]

    Section 6.1 (page not provided) links Centella asiatica triterpenoids to skin aging and hypothesizes an anti-wrinkle effect through increased type I collagen. It does not report improvements in skin hydration or elasticity, so those parts of the attributed claim are not supported by this review. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • C. asiatica is a traditional medicinal plant used due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and wound healing properties.

    “C. asiatica is a traditional medicinal plant used due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and wound healing properties.”

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Cites

5 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. Rao-Appa, M.; Srinivasan, K.; Rao, K. Effect of mandookaparni (Centella asiatica) on the mentally retarded children. J. Res. Indian Med. 1973, 8, 9.
  2. Chaudhuri, S.; Ghosh, S.; Chakraborty, T.; Kundu, S.; Hazra, S. Use of a common Indian herb "mandukaparni" in the treatment of leprosy. J. Indian Med. Assoc. 1978, 70, 177-180. [PubMed]
  3. Rhee, J.; Choi, K. Clinical effect of the titrated extract of Centella asiatica (madecassol) on peptic ulcer. Korean J. Gastroenterol. 1981, 13, 35-40.
  4. Cho, K. Clinical experiences of madecassol (Centella asiatica) in the treatment of peptic ulcer. Korean J. Gastroenterol. 1981, 13, 49-56.
  5. Shin, H.; Choi, I.; Lee, M.; Park, K. Clinical trials of madecassol (Centella asiatica) on gastrointestinal ulcer patients. Korean J. Gastroenterol. 1982, 14, 49-56.
  6. Gupta, A.; Verma, S.; Kushwaha, P.; Srivastava, S.; Aks, R. Quantitave Estimation of Asiatic acid, Asiaticoside & Madecassoside in two accessions of Centella asiatica (L) Urban for Morpho-chemotypic variation. Pharm. Res. 2014, 48, 75-79.
  7. Rai, P.; Mishra, S. Development of a simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the simultaneous determination of asiaticoside and wedelolactone in a polyherbal formulation. Pharmacogn. Mag. 2007, 3, 47-51.
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  9. Singh, B.; Tyagi, A.; De, J.; Agrawal, S. HPTLC determination of asiaticoside in Centella asiatica (Linn.). Indian Drugs 2005, 42, 87-89.
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  13. Kartnig, T. Clinical applications of Centella asiatica (L.). Urb. Herbs Spices Med. Plants: Recent Adv. Bot. Hortic. Pharmacol. 1988, 3, 145-173.
  14. Rather, M.A.; Thenmozhi, A.J.; Manivasagam, T.; Nataraj, J.; Essa, M.M.; Chidambaram, S.B. Asiatic acid nullified aluminium toxicity in in vitro model of Alzheimer's disease. Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed.) 2018, 10, 287-299. 123.

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Authors
Tan, S. C., Bhattamisra, S. K., Chellappan, D. K., & Candasamy, M.
Affiliations
IMU University (MY)
Corresponding author
  • Chellappan, Dinesh Kumar
  • Candasamy, Mayuren
Venue
Applied Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-09-13
Volume
11
Issue
18
Pages
8475
ISSN
2076-3417 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3198970443
Cited by
72
References
246
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 7
FWCI
8.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Applied Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) of the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (FRGS/2/2014/SKK03/IMU/03/1)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Natural product bioactivities and synthesis
Keywords
Centella asiatica, madecassoside, asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid, pentacyclic triterpenes, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, skin diseases, herbal medicine, therapeutic potential

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