Centella asiatica / Gotu kola → asiaticoside / Catalase Cancer Research Results

Cen, Centella asiatica / Gotu kola → asiaticoside: Click to Expand ⟱

Features:

Centella asiatica / Gotu kola → Asiaticoside

Centella asiatica, commonly known as Gotu kola, is a medicinal botanical used mainly for wound healing, skin repair, microcirculation support, anti-inflammatory effects, and possible neuroprotective activity.

Primary database product: Centella asiatica standardized extract
Common name / alias: Gotu kola
Other aliases: Indian pennywort, tiger grass, cica
Best form: Standardized Centella asiatica extract / titrated triterpenes
Main active marker: Asiaticoside
Other key actives: Madecassoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid
Compound class: Pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins / triterpenes

Asiaticoside is one of the major active and marker compounds in Centella asiatica.

Asiaticoside role: Active constituent / quality marker
Source: Centella asiatica / Gotu kola
Main activities: Wound repair, collagen synthesis, fibroblast support, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, skin barrier support
Relevant pathways: TGF-β/collagen, VEGF/angiogenesis, NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, COX-2/PGE2, oxidative stress pathways

Structure:

Centella asiatica / Gotu kola
  → Asiaticoside
  → Madecassoside
  → Asiatic acid
  → Madecassic acid

Centella asiatica / Gotu kola → asiaticoside — Centella asiatica is a medicinal botanical extract source, and asiaticoside is one of its major pentacyclic triterpenoid saponin marker constituents. The formal classification is botanical standardized extract / natural-product triterpenoid saponin modality, not an approved anticancer drug. The principal active family includes asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid; asiaticoside can also be metabolically linked to asiatic acid. Asiaticoside as the main active marker, with Centella asiatica standardized extract as the primary product.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

NF-κB and inflammatory cytokine suppression, especially reduced TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, COX-2/PGE2, and downstream survival signaling in inflammatory and tumor models.
Mitochondrial apoptosis induction in cancer cells, with Bax:Bcl-2 shift, MMP loss, caspase-9 activation, caspase-3 activation, and p53/p21-associated cell-cycle arrest reported in preclinical models.
Anti-migration and anti-EMT effects, including suppression of p65/NF-κB-linked EMT, YAP1/VEGFA signaling, invasion, and radiation-induced migration in selected cancer-cell systems.
PI3K/Akt/mTOR/STAT3 modulation, more strongly supported for asiatic acid than for asiaticoside itself, with relevance to proliferation, survival, autophagy, and metastatic phenotype.
TGF-β/collagen/fibroblast and wound-repair axis activation in normal tissue contexts; beneficial for repair but mechanistically ambiguous in cancer because fibrosis and angiogenesis can be tumor-context dependent.
Oxidative-stress modulation, generally antioxidant and cytoprotective in normal cells; ROS/NRF2 effects are secondary and context-dependent rather than the core anticancer mechanism.

Bioavailability / PK relevance: Oral translation is constrained by variable extract composition, limited dissolution and bioavailability of triterpenes, metabolism of glycosides to aglycones, and formulation dependence. Standardized extracts such as ECa 233 and aqueous Centella asiatica products have human phase-1 PK data, but systemic exposure is still not equivalent to common high-concentration in-vitro cancer experiments.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Cancer-cell studies commonly use micromolar asiaticoside or asiatic-acid exposures that may exceed or not cleanly map onto achievable plasma exposure after oral botanical dosing. Topical and local tissue uses are more plausible for skin/wound biology than systemic anticancer effects. For cancer translation, the entry should be treated as concentration- and formulation-dependent.

Clinical evidence status: Cancer relevance is weak / preclinical only, with no established oncology indication. Human evidence is stronger for wound healing, venous/skin-related uses, and early cognitive/AD-oriented safety or PK studies than for cancer treatment. AD relevance is possible / early clinical, with phase-1 target-engagement work in mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease, but no proven disease-modifying efficacy.

Centella asiatica and Asiaticoside Mechanistic Profile

Rank	Pathway / Axis	Cancer Cells	Normal Cells	TSF	Primary Effect	Notes / Interpretation
1	NF-κB inflammatory survival axis	NF-κB↓, p65↓, TNF-α↓, IL-1β↓	NF-κB↓, inflammatory cytokines↓	R,G	Anti-inflammatory and anti-survival signaling	Most central cross-context mechanism; supports anticancer, neuroinflammatory, and wound-healing interpretations but is not cancer-specific.
2	Mitochondrial apoptosis	MMP↓, Bax:Bcl-2↑, caspase-9↑, caspase-3↑	Apoptosis↔ or ↓ in injury models (context-dependent)	G	Intrinsic apoptotic priming in tumor models	Preclinical cancer-cell effect; selectivity depends strongly on dose, cell line, and compound form.
3	Cell-cycle checkpoint and p53 axis	p53↑, p21↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK4↓	Cell-cycle stress↔ (context-dependent)	G	Growth arrest and reduced proliferation	cytostatic activity; best treated as model-dependent rather than universal.
4	EMT migration invasion axis	Migration↓, invasion↓, EMT↓, YAP1/VEGFA↓, p65↓	Repair migration↑ in wound contexts (context-dependent)	G	Reduced metastatic phenotype in selected models	Important because Centella can promote normal wound repair while suppressing tumor-cell invasion in some systems; interpretation is tissue-context dependent.
5	PI3K Akt mTOR STAT3 survival axis	PI3K/Akt↓, mTOR↓, STAT3↓ (mainly asiatic acid)	Mixed cytoprotection or survival signaling↔	R,G	Reduced survival, proliferation, and metastatic signaling	Better supported for asiatic acid than asiaticoside; include as related triterpene-family mechanism rather than asiaticoside-only claim.
6	Autophagy axis	LC3-II↑, autophagy↑ (model-dependent)	Autophagy↔ or ↑ (context-dependent)	G	Stress adaptation or autophagic cell death	Direction and therapeutic meaning are model-dependent; can be pro-death or protective depending on tumor context.
7	ROS antioxidant NRF2 stress axis	ROS↔ or ↑ during apoptosis (context-dependent)	Oxidative stress↓, antioxidant defense↑, NRF2↔ or ↑	R,G	Normal-cell protection and redox modulation	Secondary mechanism.
8	TGF-β collagen fibroblast repair axis	TGF-β effects↔ (context-dependent)	Collagen synthesis↑, fibroblast activity↑, wound repair↑	G	Tissue repair and matrix remodeling	Core for Centella’s non-cancer use; potentially undesirable in some tumor-stroma or fibrosis contexts.
9	VEGF angiogenesis axis	VEGFA↓ in some breast cancer models	Angiogenesis↑ during wound repair (context-dependent)	G	Opposite effects depending on cancer versus repair context	Important interpretive caution: normal repair biology and cancer biology may diverge.
10	Radiosensitization migration constraint	Radiation-induced migration↓, invasion↓	Radioprotection↔ unknown	G	Anti-invasive adjunct signal after irradiation	Evidence is preclinical and more anti-migration than classic radiosensitization
11	Clinical Translation Constraint	High in-vitro exposure required (often)	Rare hepatotoxicity risk; product variability	G	Limits systemic anticancer translation	Bioavailability, formulation, extract standardization, dose limitation, and weak oncology trial evidence are the main constraints.

P: 0–30 min R: 30 min–3 hr G: >3 hr

AD relevance: Possible / preclinical. Interest is mainly through neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial protection, and general neuroprotective mechanisms.

Alzheimer’s disease relevance: Centella asiatica / Gotu kola has a plausible but unproven AD-oriented profile. The strongest rationale is not direct amyloid clearance as an established clinical effect, but combined modulation of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial metabolism, synaptic or neuronal viability markers, and vascular/microcirculatory support. Human evidence is early: phase-1 PK/safety and target-engagement studies exist in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease, but efficacy remains unproven.

Clinical evidence status: AD / cognition evidence is preclinical plus small human and phase-1 clinical work. Early translational / investigational rather than established therapy.

Cancer relevance: Weak / preclinical.

AD-Oriented Mechanistic Profile

Rank	Pathway / Axis	Modulation	Primary Effect	Notes / Interpretation
1	Neuroinflammation NF-κB cytokine axis	NF-κB↓, TNF-α↓, IL-1β↓	Reduced inflammatory signaling	Most defensible AD-relevant mechanism; not disease-specific.
2	Mitochondrial metabolism neuronal viability	Mitochondrial function↑, metabolic stress↓	Neuronal bioenergetic support	Central to current target-engagement rationale in cognitive impairment studies.
3	Oxidative stress DNA oxidation axis	Oxidative stress↓, 8OHdG↓ (candidate marker)	Reduced oxidative injury	Relevant to trial biomarker strategy; clinical disease modification unproven.
4	Synaptic memory and neuronal morphology axis	Learning and memory markers↑ (model-dependent)	Cognitive-support signal in animals	Preclinical support is stronger than human efficacy evidence.
5	Amyloid-associated pathology	β-amyloid stress↓ (model-dependent)	Reduced amyloid-model metabolic disturbance	model-dependent, not as proven anti-amyloid clinical activity.
6	Clinical Translation Constraint	Bioavailability↔, extract variability↑, evidence limitation↑	Limits AD clinical interpretation	Current status is investigational; formulation, heavy-metal quality, dose, and trial endpoints matter.

Catalase, Catalase: Click to Expand ⟱

Source:

Type:

Caspases are a cysteine protease that speed up a chemical reaction via pointing their target substrates following an aspartic acid residue.1 They are grouped into apoptotic (caspase-2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) and inflammatory (caspase-1, 4, 5, 11 and 12) mediated caspases.
Caspase-1 may have both tumorigenic or antitumorigenic effects on cancer development and progression, but it depends on the type of inflammasome, methodology, and cancer.
Catalase is an enzyme found in nearly all living cells exposed to oxygen. Its primary role is to protect cells from oxidative damage by catalyzing the conversion of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a potentially damaging byproduct of metabolism, into water (H₂O) and oxygen (O₂). This detoxification process is crucial because excess H₂O₂ can lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage proteins, lipids, and DNA.

Catalase and Cancer
Oxidative Stress and Cancer:
Cancer cells often experience increased levels of oxidative stress due to rapid proliferation and metabolic changes. This stress can lead to DNA damage, promoting tumorigenesis.
Catalase helps mitigate oxidative stress, and its expression can influence the survival and proliferation of cancer cells.
Expression Levels in Different Cancers:
Overexpression: In some cancers, such as breast cancer and certain types of leukemia, catalase may be overexpressed. This overexpression can help cancer cells survive in oxidative environments, potentially leading to more aggressive tumor behavior.
Downregulation: Conversely, in other cancers, such as colorectal cancer, reduced catalase expression has been observed. This downregulation can lead to increased oxidative stress, contributing to tumor progression and metastasis.
Prognostic Implications:
Survival Rates: Studies have shown that high levels of catalase expression can be associated with poor prognosis in certain cancers, as it may enable cancer cells to resist apoptosis (programmed cell death) induced by oxidative stress.

Some types of cancer cells have been reported to exhibit lower catalase activity, possibly increasing their vulnerability to oxidative damage under certain conditions. This vulnerability has even been exploited in some therapeutic strategies (for example, approaches that generate excess H₂O₂ or other ROS specifically targeting cancer cells have been researched).

Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱

6662-

Cen,

Assessment report on Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, herba

Review,

Nor,

*cognitive↑, *Inflam↓, *AntiBio↑, *Imm↑, *antiOx↑, *Wound Healing↑, *cardioP↑, *SOD↑, *Catalase↑, *GPx↑, *GSTs↑, *MDA↓, *lipid-P↓, *ROS↓, *memory↑, *GABA↑, *antiPs↑, *BioAv↝,

6650-

Cen,

Therapeutic Potential of Centella asiatica and Its Triterpenes: A Review

Review,

AD,

*BioAv↝, *BioAv↝, *MDA↓, *GSH↑, *SOD↑, *AChE↓, *memory↑, *Ki-67↑, *Catalase↑, *PI3K↑, *BDNF↑, *NGF↑, *ROS↓, *NRF2↑, *HO-1↑, *NQO1↑, *ATP↑, *OCR↑, *TNF-α↓, *PP2A↑, *GSK‐3β↓, *Bcl-2↑, *TrkB↑, *NOTCH1↑, *SOX2↑, *Nestin↑, *MDA↓, *MAOA↓, *MAOB↓, *GPx↑, *cognitive↑, *ROS↓, *neuroP↑, *glucose↓, *ALAT↓, *AST↓, *PFK↓, *Weight↓, *Inflam↓, *AntiDiabetic↑, *Obesity↓, *Wound Healing↑, *cardioP↑, *GutMicro↑, *Sepsis↓, *BioAv↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 2 of 2

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 2

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:

Total Targets: 0

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:

Infection & Microbiome ⓘ

Sepsis↓, 1,
Total Targets: 52

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Catalase, Catalase

Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:417  Target#:46  State#:%  Dir#:%
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Centella asiatica / Gotu kola → asiaticoside / Catalase Cancer Research Results