Starwest Herbal Fluid Extracts are made to exacting standards, such as those of the German Pharmacopoeia, with a Certified Organic grain alcohol base.

Starwest Herbal Extracts are convenient to use, an excellent alternative to herb tea or capsules. Made by a cold process method that extracts the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals, and active constituents of the herb.

Our extracts have a herb strength of 1 to 1 and a 30% alcohol content; the fresh extracts are a 1 to 2 ratio with a 50% alcohol content.

Our extensive line of herbal extracts are mostly Certified Kosher, including some Fresh, Responsibly
Wildcrafted (WC) and many Certified Organic - all grown in compliance with the National Organic Program.

Used throughout the Indian subcontinent as a poultice for skin diseases and the healing of wounds. It also has an ancient reputation for aiding mental clarity and lowering blood pressure.

Hydrocotyle asiatica, listed by Grieve and King's, is sometimes listed as a synonym, but Oriental medical references say that Hydrocotyle is actually a different and medicinally inferior plant.

Centella's saponins (including asiaticoside, madecassoside and madasiatic acid) seem to reduce scar formation in wound healing by inhibiting the production of connective tissue as they simultaneously close the wound.

As the research below indicates, Centella has been experimentally shown to be 'effective in venous insufficiency, reducing ankle edema, foot swelling, capillary filtration rate and improving microcirculatory parameters.' The herb is very good news for varicose veins.

This demonstrable improvement in microcirculatory efficiency may explain Gotu Kola's ancient reputation as an aid to mental clarity, high blood pressure, fever, rheumatism and mental disorders.

http://www.herbmed.org/Herbs/Herb95.htm:

Clinical Trials

Microcirculatory parameters improved for 87 patients with chronic venous hypertensive microangiopathy taking 30 mg bid or 60 mg bid for 2 months Cesarone 1994

Bioavailability for asiatic acid and asiaticoside was quite similar, about 600 ng.h/ml, in 12 healthy Rush 1993

Review finds that Centella asiatica is effective in venous insufficiency, reducing ankle edema, foot swelling, capillary filtration rate and improving microcirculatory parameters Cesarone 1992

High circulating endothelial cells in postphlebitic patients was brought down by C asiatica triterpenic fraction Montecchio 1991

Varicose vein patients taking 60 mg/day for three months had declines in serum uronic acid 467 to 231 mcg/ml, beta-glycuronidase 1.8 to 1.2 microM, acetylglucosaminidase 23 to 18, arysulfatase 78 to 42 nM Arpaia 1990

Four weeks of triterpene fraction decreased capillary filtration rate, ankle circumference and edema in patients with venous pressure greater than 42 mmH Belcaro 1990

Two weeks' treatment with total triterpenic fraction, 60 mg, tid, decreased wheal disappearance time, indicating decreased capillary filtration and permeability Belcaro 1990

Plasma levels in humans, measured by HPLC, are higher with continuing twice daily ingestion than single dose of 30 or 60 mg of triterpenic fraction of Centella Grimaldi 1990

Titrated extract reduced symptoms of heaviness in the lower limbs and edema and improved venous distensibility in a double-blind randomized trial with 94 patients with venous insufficiency Pointel 1987

Observational Studies/Case Reports

Scleroderma patients benefited from madecassol, which contains asiaticoside [Article in Russian] Guseva 1998

Iron absorption in 10 young adult males from each meal of Centella gruel was 2.2%; raised to 5% by adding 50 mg ascorbic acid Liyanage 1996

Lymphedema treatment has included coumarins, rutins, Centella asiatica extracts, procyanoside oligomers. Antibiotics should be tried and diuretics avoided [Article in French] Coget 1988

Use of Centella extract and potassium hydroxide with laser therapy for periodontal disease Benedicenti 1985

Centella asiatica extract in venous pathology of the lower limbs and its evaluation as compared with tribenoside [Article in Italian] Marastoni 1982

Centella asiatica extract in venous disorders of the lower limbs. Comparative clinico-instrumental studies with a placebo [Article in Italian] Allegra 1981

Madecassol is of clinical value in stopping the inflammatory phase of hypertrophic scars and keloids Bosse 1979

5 of the 12 chronic hepatic patients benefitted from titrated extract Darnis 1979

15 children with scleroderma and systemic sclerosis had no benefit from asiaticoside, colchicine nor diphenyldantoin Frati Munari 1979

Results of a controlled experiment of the titrated extract of Centella asiatica in a leper population with perforative foot lesions[Article in French] Nebout 1974

Use of titrated extract of Centella asiatica (TECA) in bilharzial bladder lesions. Fam 1973

Effect of topical Hydrocotyle Asiatica in psoriasis. Natarajan 1973

Action of the titrated extract of Centella Asiatica in the cicatrization of leg ulcers (10 mg. tablets). Apropos of 50 cases [Article in French] Huriez 1971