Centella asiatica, also called gotu kola or Asian pennywort, is a plant used as a food and in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia. As a supplement it is used for veins, skin and wound healing, and memory, but human evidence is limited.
Also known as: gotu kola, Asian pennywort, Centella.
Centella has no intake value or upper limit, and there is no NIH fact sheet for it. We do not list amounts, because the few trials used different extracts that are not comparable.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
A 2020 Cochrane review of oral "phlebotonics" for leg vein insufficiency (Martinez-Zapata) included 2 studies of Centella asiatica among 56. As a group, phlebotonics probably reduce leg swelling slightly and slightly raise side effects, mostly stomach upset, but the reviewers said findings for any single product are limited.
The main caution is the liver. NIH's LiverTox says Centella is generally regarded as safe but has been linked to rare cases of acute liver injury with jaundice. In one report (Jorge 2005), three women developed hepatitis with jaundice after taking Centella for 20 to 60 days; all improved after stopping, and in one the injury came back when she took it again. If you have liver disease or notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or stomach pain, stop and contact your clinician.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for Centella asiatica that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one.
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