Gotu Kola P. E .
Latin name: Centella Asiatica
Chinese name: Ji Xue Cao
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Centella
Part used: Total Herb

1 The summary
The protophyte of Gotu Kola is regarded as the whole herb of Centella asiatica ( Linn. ) Urban, in the family of Umbelliferae. As one of the Chinese herbal medicines most in use in ancient China, it had millennia in the history to be used in China, India & Indonesia.
Shape: Perennial creeper herbaceous, with stem long & thin, smooth also, covered by soft pale hairs. Leaves present kidney-shape, 2—5cm in diameter. Double suspending fruits are oblate, 2—2.5cm in length, with very clear major edge and minor edge. Florescence: May—June; Fruit period: July—Aug.
Cultivation: Fond of warm-humid weather in nature, shady-resistant. Better in loose and fertile soil with southern exposure. Generally breeding by piece of plant. Dig the whole plant when 4—5 pieces of old plants sprout, then cut the creeping stem and divide into single one. Excavate ditches at 25cm of row space and grow a plant every 6cm. Let the leaf blade appear on the ground, cover with soil and press tightly with watering. Loosen soil and remove weed when new plant is out, along with spreading organic fertilizer. Repeat in June. Spread organic fertilizer every harvest. Remove weed in Nov. along with spreading fertilizer.
Harvest: whole herb administration. In general, harvest the whole plant in summer and autumn. Remove silt, use in fresh or leave to dry.
Distribution: Mainly distributed in east China, middle south, southwest and Shaanxi, more from Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces.

2 The main chemical composition
1. Triterpenoid glycosides & triterpenoid acids
Gotu Kola mainly contains Triterpenoid glycosides, such as asiaticoside, madecassoside, thankuniside, brahmoside, brahminoside, isothankuniside and centelloside, etc. In addition, there are also several dissociative triterpenoid acids，such as asiatic acid, madecassic acid, centic acid, centoic acid and indocentic acid.


Asiaticoside
CAS 16830－15-2
C48H78O19; 959.16
white acicular crystal （ Methanol ），mp230～232℃； sulfuric acid －acetic anhydride reaction(positive)。[α]25D –12.2°（Methanol），IRνmax(KBr)cm-1：3417（OH），2932，1734（C=O），1641,1454,1383,1274,1057(C-O),960。1HNMR。13CNMR。

Asiatic acid
CAS 464－92-6
C30H48O5; 488.71
White powder（ Methanol ），mp242～244℃。 [α]10D ＋53.9°（ pyridine ），IRνmax(KBr)cm-1：3420（OH），2926，1697（C=O），1454,1390,1378,1229,1048,1015，961。1HNMR。13CNMR。