Angiogenic Properties of Centella asiatica

Introduction: Centella asiatica (C. asiatica) is a well-known plant in South East Asia. This plant was selected for evaluation of its angiogenic potential. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of C. asiatica extracts on the expression of FGF-2 in rat's mast cells. Material and Methods: Ten grams of dry ground leaves of C. asiatica were extracted with 100 ml of distilled water at room temperature for 24 h. The solution was filtered and concentrated by lyophilization. To assess cytotoxicity of the C. asiatica extract, rat's mast cells (RBL-2H3) were treated with different concentrations of C. asiatica for 72 h. Cell viability was determined indirectly using MTT assay. To investigate the effect of C. asiatica on FGF-2 expression, RBL-2H3 were exposed to the plant extracts at the concentrations of 0-15 mg/ml for 24 h. The expression of FGF-2 mRNA and proteins were determined using RT-PCR and Western Blotting, respectively. Results: C. asiatica extract at the concentrations up to 20 mg /ml did not exhibit cytotoxic effect on RBL-2H3. We found that C. asiatica extract enhanced gene and protein expression of FGF-2 in RBL-2H3 in a dose dependent manner. The enhancement of FGF-2 expression was observed when the mast cells were treated with C. asiaticaextract at the concentration of 15 mg/ml. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the enhancement of chronic wound healing by C. asiatica might have been due to the promotion of angiogenesis induced by the stimulation of FGF-2 expression in mast cells.