What are the differences between Centella asiatica and Centella asiatica and their medicinal characteristics?

Both Houttuynia cordata and Centella asiatica are very common types of herbs. Houttuynia cordata itself tastes sweet and slightly bitter, and has excellent effects of promoting diuresis, relieving stranguria, and clearing away heat and detoxifying. As for Centella asiatica, it mainly grows in shady and damp grasslands or beside ditches, and is very effective in treating diarrhea, dysentery, damp-heat jaundice and other diseases that people usually suffer from.

Moneywort

Chinese medicine properties

Nature and flavor

It tastes sweet, slightly bitter and cool in nature. It enters the liver, gallbladder, kidney and bladder meridians.

Indications

Diuresis and diuresis; clearing away heat and detoxifying; dispersing blood stasis and relieving swelling. It is mainly used to treat liver, gallbladder and urinary system stones; pyretic stranguria; nephritic edema; damp-heat jaundice; sores, carbuncles, snake bites and injuries from falls.

Dosage

For internal use: decoct in water, 15-60g, double the amount for fresh product; or mash into juice and drink. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash fresh product for application.

Centella asiatica

(Scientific name: Centella asiatica (L.) Urban), perennial herb with creeping, slender stems and roots at the nodes. The leaves are membranous to herbaceous, rounded, reniform or horseshoe-shaped; there are 5-7 palmate veins, raised on both sides, and the upper part of the veins is forked; the petiole is 1.5-27 cm long, glabrous or pubescent on the upper part, and the leaf sheath at the base is transparent and membranous. Umbels 2-4, clustered in leaf axils; bracts usually 2, rarely 3, ovate, membranous; each umbel has 3-4 flowers, clustered in a head shape; petals ovate, purple-red or milky white, membranous; style about 0.6 mm long; filaments shorter than petals, equal in length to style. The fruit is flattened on both sides, spherical, with a heart-shaped to truncated base, several longitudinal ridges on each side, and obvious small transverse veins between the ridges, which are reticular, and the surface is hairy or smooth. The flowering and fruiting period is from April to October.

Distributed in many provinces and regions of China. It likes to grow in shady and moist grasslands or beside ditches; at an altitude of 200-1900 meters. It is also distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Oceania, Japan, Australia, Central Africa and South Africa (Azania). The whole plant is used as medicine to clear away heat and dampness, reduce swelling and detoxify. It can treat abdominal pain caused by sha xenon, summer diarrhea, dysentery, jaundice caused by damp heat, sand stranguria, hematuria, vomiting, blood, coughing up blood, red eyes, swollen throat, rubella, scabies, carbuncle, swelling and poison, and bruises.