The Benefits of Pegaga Pegaga is the latest hot issue in the pharmaceutical industry. It is even said to have phytochemicals comparable, although not exactly similar to the Korean ginseng. It has no ginsenoside (active ingredient found in ginseng) but the triterpenoids in pegaga do have outstanding properties. Like ginsenoside, they (the triterpenoides, either singularly or collectively) promote general health. The Indians, long recorded in the Ayurvedic records, regard the pegaga (known to them as Gotu Kola) as a rejuvenating herb. It is also recorded as the brain food, claiming to improve memory and prevent memory loss. This aspect has recently got scientific backing with the discovery of the triterpenoids and the asiaticosides. The Chinese associate the herb with longevity. It was claimed that consuming just 2 leaves a day is sufficient to maintain your youth. It seemed there was an ancient Chinese herbalist who outlived his 26 wives and had over 150 children and he gave credit to the pegaga (true or not, I do not know). I was trying to look up this article for reference but could not seem to locate it. What I know is that my filing system seriously needs `reformasi'. The use of pegaga is worldwide, from Asia to Africa and the American continent. Similarly, their traditional cures using the pegaga ranges from a cure for syphilis to leprosy and as a sex stimulant (aphrodisiac) to a remedy for a simple stomach ache. However, across the continents, there are several similar or rather, common ailments which the pegaga can remedy. There have been scientific backings that the herb has several properties such as analgesic, anti-convulsant, anti-rheumatic as well as stimulation of collagen production. This quite substantiate the claims of a cure for arthritis (anti-rheumatic factor) and elixir of youth (collagen production). Professor Mike Doherty of the University of Nottingham is currently involved in such a research. Some Europeans while enjoying their centella tea, claims that it helps in their sexual libido. So who needs viagra, especially when the tea is so easily made (see last month's Nature's Voice). Better still in the nyonya pegaga drink (also mentioned in last month's Nature's Voice) which are consumed as a tonic and can be very refreshing. Our local folks also recommends pegaga drink as a febrifuge (medicine that helps to reduce fever). Its wound healing properties is not new but supported only recently by scientific studies on the triterpenoids. Local traditional medicine had long mentioned of poultice applied directly over open wounds to hasten healing. Ancient beauty treatment also used pegaga for more youthful and pliable skins and to fight pimples. Again this is well supported by its collagen building properties. So for younger looking skins, why not try the pegaga face mask. In Canada, Lipoteca, a herbal extract of Centella, is proclaimed to be very effective in removing scar tissues. A plastic surgeon of the Montreal University by the name of Dr. Jean Paul Bosse claimed to get 80% success in curing hypertrophic scars and keloid with the use of centella in over 400 patients over a four year study. Lipoteca contains liposomes to aid in the absorption by the tissues. Many pharmaceutical companies are now capitalising on the properties of pegaga to formulate and promote their product worldwide. Their extracts, mostly in the form of tablets do come cheaply and their claims are often fantastic and incredibly unbelievable but supported with their own research findings. So why not give them the benefit of the doubt but instead buy fresh pegaga from our local market which is more original and purer with no added fillers and no fear of side effects. It is also by far cheaper than their capsules.................................. Koon Hup ??