The plant's positive anti-aging effects are generally attributed to two main triterpene saponosides: aciatic and madecassic acids and their heterosides; asiaticoside and madecassoside, respectively. The hydroalcoholic extract of the plant has been tested in vitro against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a key enzyme that plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Since a deficiency in the level of acetylcholine (ACh), which is hydrolyzed by AChE, has been identified in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, AChE inhibition, along with its sister enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), has become a rational target in the development of drugs against Alzheimer's. Using Ellman's spectrophotometric method, the extract was found to inhibit AChE by 50% at a concentration of 150 μg/mL. Awad and his team investigated the inhibitory properties of Centella Asiatica extract against Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase (GAD) and γ-aminobutyric acid transaminase (GABA-T), enzymes responsible for GABA metabolism, and found that the extract stimulated GAD activity by over 40%. The fact that the aqueous extract of Centella Asiatica caused a significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) and an increase in glutathione and CAT levels led the authors to suggest that Centella Asiatica extract has a positive effect on memory related to its extraordinary antioxidant effect.

PUBLICATIONS ON THE SUBJECT:

** Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:946259. doi: 10.1155/2012/946259. Epub 2012 May 14.

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine with Neuroprotective Potential

** 2021 Dec 16;12:788312. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.788312. eCollection 2021.

Centella asiatica Alters Metabolic Pathways Associated With Alzheimer's Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of ß-Amyloid Accumulation

** J Alzheimers Dis. 2015;45(3):933-46. doi: 10.3233/JAD-142217.

Centella asiatica Attenuates Amyloid-β-Induced Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

** Neurosci Lett. 2017 Apr 12;646:24-29. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.02.072. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ-induced neurodegenerative spine loss and dendritic simplification

** Int J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;2012:381974. doi: 10.1155/2012/381974. Epub 2012 Feb 15.

Centella asiatica Extract Improves Behavioral Deficits in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease: Investigation of a Possible Mechanism of Action

** Antioxidants (Basel). 2019 Dec 8;8(12):630. doi: 10.3390/antiox8120630.

Centella Asiatica Improves Memory and Promotes Antioxidative Signaling in 5XFAD Mice

** Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr 16;20(8):1871. doi: 10.3390/ijms20081871.

Centella asiatica Protects d-Galactose/AlCl3 Mediated Alzheimer's Disease-Like Rats via PP2A/GSK-3β Signaling Pathway in Their Hippocampus

** Front Physiol. 2021 Oct 14;12:712317. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.712317. eCollection 2021.

Hypoxia-Induced Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease: Potential Neuroprotective Effects of Centella asiatica

**Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 29;12:687935. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.687935.

Mitoprotective Effects of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.: Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Opportunities in Neurodegenerative Disease

** Malays J Med Sci. 2016 Jan;23(1):4-14.

Recent Updates in Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Potential of Centella asiatica