Centella asiatica for skin: what the evidence shows

What Centella asiatica is

Centella asiatica is a medicinal herb of the Apiaceae family, commonly known as gotu kola and Indian pennywort. It has been used in Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Southeast Asian folk medicine for skin conditions, including wounds, ulcers, burns and skin infections.¹

Traditional use is a reason to study a plant, not a result. The sections below separate what has actually been tested from what is only said about it.

What the studies found on wound healing

A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 16 preclinical studies, and analysed 11 that had usable numbers. Compared with untreated or vehicle-treated groups, the Centella asiatica groups showed significant improvement in many wound-healing measures, including tensile strength, the time to form new skin, wound contraction and collagen deposition.¹ “Preclinical” means laboratory and animal work, not people.

In people, the evidence is thinner. A 2022 systematic review found four clinical trials that met its inclusion criteria. Its conclusion is that Centella asiatica might enhance wound healing, and that more studies are needed before the results can be pooled.²

Both of these are about wound healing. A wound is not the same as irritated, red or sensitive skin, and neither review tested a cosmetic cream for those.

What the evidence does not cover

We did not find a controlled trial, with a comparison group, of a Centella asiatica cream or serum for facial redness, sensitive skin or breakouts. Claims like that are, for now, an extension of the wound and traditional-use findings.

The closest we found is a 2025 single-arm study of 88 women in China with sensitive skin who used a facial cream containing Centella asiatica leaf extract, ceramide NP and panthenol on the whole face. Their sensitivity scores fell by 66% after two weeks and 76% after four, with less irritation, tautness, itching and redness, and the adverse events were mild.³ There was no comparison group and the cream had three active ingredients, so it cannot show what centella did, and the study was funded by a skin-health company.³

The nearest human trial we found tested oral plus topical Centella asiatica in 159 people with type 2 diabetes and dry skin. In the group whose blood sugar was well controlled, the combination improved dry-skin measures compared with placebo.⁴ It tested a swallowed extract together with a 1% ointment in a specific group of patients, so it is not a test of a cosmetic cream on its own.

Side effects and allergy

In the preclinical analysis, three studies of acute dermal toxicity under an OECD test guideline found no skin irritation or adverse effects.¹ That was in animals.

In people, contact allergy to Centella asiatica has been reported. Case reports describe allergic contact dermatitis from a cream containing a Centella asiatica extract,⁵ and contact dermatitis due to Centella asiatica.⁶ We have read only the titles, so we cannot say how common it is. If a product with Centella makes your skin itch or redden, stop using it.

Centella asiatica in pregnancy and breastfeeding

No pregnancy-specific evidence is not the same as safe, or as unsafe.

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁷

What you will see on the label

Look for Centella Asiatica Extract in the ingredient list. Snifff shows it as Low risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

A front-of-pack claim about Centella does not tell you how much extract is in the product. Our guide to reading an ingredient list shows how to judge that from where it sits in the list.

As Snifff shows it

Centella Asiatica Extract

Low risk

Pregnancy and nursing

We found no pregnancy- or lactation-specific evidence for this ingredient.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.