Phytochemical Comparison of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban and Centella erecta (L f.) Fern. (Apiaceae)

The pantropical species Centella asiatica or Gotu Kola is well-known in the genus because of its medicinal properties [1]. This species has been used in various traditional medicines in the past and now becoming popular throughout the world as a key ingredient in herbal products that claim to have brain stimulating properties. C. erecta is a native species commonly found in the US and is easily confused with C. asiatica. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the phytochemistry of both C. erecta and C. asiatica. C. asiatica has been well studied but little is known about the phytochemistry of C. erecta [2]. The phytochemical studies of the ethanolic extract of C. erecta resulted in isolation of known triterpene acids asiatic acid, madecassic acid and the corresponding glycosides, asiaticoside and madecassoside. Moreover, HPTLC fingerprints of the two species in different solvent viz. chloroform:methanol:water (8:1.5:0.2; Plate-1) and chloroform:methanol:water (13:6:1; Plate-2) systems were studied. Acknowledgements: This research is funded in part by The United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Specific Cooperative Agreement Number 58-6408-06-067. Authors thank Nan Johnson and Derek Oglesby of the Medicinal Plant Garden of the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi for their assistance in processing the plant material. References: [1] Wattanathorn J, et al. (2007) Journal of Ethnopharmacology in press. [2] de Paula Reis, et al. (1996) Revista Brasileira de Farmácia 77(2): 71–72.