Centella asiatica is widely used in the orient and claims a wide range of health benefits. In China the herb is known as ‘gotu kola’ and is reported to be one of the miracle elixirs of life. As with many miracles empirical evidence to support this claim are not readily forthcoming. In the Indian pharmcopoeia the herb is recommended for a variety of skin disorders and there is some low quality evidence supporting benefits in wound healing, prevention of unpleasant (keloid) scarring and improved microcirculation in chronic venous insufficiency (Gohil et al). Given that few marketing executives can resist the temptation to offer ‘miracle elixirs of life’ for sale it is unsurprising to find Centella products widely available on the internet, usually as beauty products. Suggestions that Centella may improve dementia have not been proven in clinical studies (Puttarak et al) GRF December 2018