J. Trop. Agric. and Fd. Sc. 36(1)(2008): 43– 51 M.S. Rosalizan, M.Y. Rohani, I. Khatijah and M.A.

Shukri

Physical characteristics, nutrient contents and triterpene

compounds of ratoon crops of Centella asiatica at three different
stages of maturity
[Ciri-ciri fizikal, kandungan pemakanan dan sebatian triterpene tanaman ratun pegaga
(Centella asiatica) pada tiga tahap kematangan]

M.S. Rosalizan*, M.Y. Rohani**, I. Khatijah*** and M.A. Shukri****

Key words: Centella asiatica, ratoon crop, physical characteristics, nutrients, triterpene
compounds, maturity

Abstract
The physical characteristics, nutrient contents and triterpene compounds
of Centella asiatica var. Nyonya were investigated at three different stages
of maturity: 50, 60 and 70 days after ratooning. Physical characteristics of
C. asiatica at each stage of maturity showed no statistical differences (p <0.05) in
whole plant length, leaf width, root length and culm length. Moisture content was
slightly higher (92%) when harvested at 50 days after ratooning, but the value
decreased significantly to 88–89% when harvested at 60 and 70 days. The leaf
colour intensity (C* values) was low in young plants but increased significantly
as plants grew older. There was significant change in total soluble solids as the
maturity period increased. The highest levels of chlorophyll and titratable acidity,
and lower level of pH were observed at 60 days of harvest, while ascorbic acid
content decreased significantly with advance in maturity. The plant contained
significant amount of Na, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, P and Ca. With advance in maturity, the
K and Ca levels increased significantly. Different levels of triterpene compounds
were observed at different maturity stages. The content of asiatic acid was not
significantly different at all stages of maturity. However, the levels of madecassic
acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside were significantly different with advance in
maturity. These compounds were higher when harvested at 60 days and decreased
significantly thereafter. Thus, for the ratoon crop, it is recommended to harvest
the plant at 60 days after ratooning since most of the bioactive compounds were
observed to be highest at this stage of maturity.

*Rice and Industrial Crops Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
**Promotion and Technology Development Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774
   Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
***Food Technology Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur,
    Malaysia
****Strategic Resource Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur,
     Malaysia
Authors’ full names: Rosalizan Md Saleh, Rohani Md Yon, Khatijah Idris and Mohd Shukri Mat Ali
E-mail: [email protected]
©Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute 2008

43
Nutrient and triterpene content of Centella asiatica at different maturity stages

Introduction stems and leaves. Harvesting of the main

Centella asiatica or pegaga is a plant which and ratoon crop is done at 80–90 days and
has been recognized as a very potent herb in 50– 60 days after transplanting, respectively.
various cultures. It is native to the warmer The whole plants are harvested, i.e. when
regions of both hemispheres. The plant is the leaves reached a maximum size of about
usually found in the swampy areas of India, 4.0– 4.4 cm wide.
Sri Lanka, South Africa and Southeast Asia Centella asiatica contains active
such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The plant is ingredients such as triterpenoids, glycosides,
also indigenous to China, the western South volatile oils, pectin, amino acids, alkaloids,
Sea Island, Australia, Madagascar, southern calcium, iron, phosphorus and vitamins
United States, and insular and continental (Indu Bala and Ng 2000). Several
tropical America. This slender and creeping triterpenoids compounds have been isolated
herb is especially abundant in the tropical from C. asiatica. The most important ones
regions. being asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madecassic
The other common names of the plant acid and madecassoside (de Padua et al.
are Asiatic Pennywort, Indian Pennywort, 1999). They have been considered as
Thickleaved Pennywort and Gotu Kola. pharmacologically active ingredients which
The Chinese, Indians and Malays use this are beneficial in improving human health.
herb for various ailments ranging from These compounds have been reported to
treatment of mental disorders, immune exhibit significant wound healing activity
system deficiencies, circulatory problems, (de Padua et al. 1999).
skin problems, liver ailments, epilepsy, Studies have also shown that some of
asthma, hair loss and tetanus. It is also used these compounds are potent scavengers of
as a brain tonic (Indu Bala and Ng 2000). free radicals and, as such, are potentially
Among the Malays, C. asiatica is consumed useful in the prevention of arteriosclerosis,
traditionally as a salad vegetable. Today, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases,
the extracts of C. asiatica are widely used arthritis and others (Zainol et al. 2003). The
as active ingredient in many drugs and presence of these compounds in C. asiatica
cosmetic preparations in Europe, USA and is varied among cultivars and several other
Japan. factors such as agronomic practices, time
The herb is a polymorphous, creeping of harvest, stage of maturity and effective
plant, rooting at nodes, with cylindrical postharvest handling.
and glabrous stems. Nodes arise at regular Variation in content of bioactive
intervals and the roots, flowers and leaves compounds in plants depends on both
occur at the nodes. The leaves are glabrous genetics and environment, including
and cordate (heart-shaped) or reniform growing conditions, harvest and storage,
(kidney-shaped) with long petiole (leaf processing and meal preparation (Jefferey et
stalk) ranging from 5–10 cm even up al. 2002). However, very little information
to 20 cm. Leaf margin may be serrated was available on the influences of genetics,
(saw-like teeth) or smooth. The rootstock environment and postharvest handling
consists of rhizomes, growing vertically on content of bioactive components of
down and stolons which grow horizontally, C. asiatica. Sharma (2000) reported that
interconnecting one plant to another. three months after planting, the herb
The plant grows under a wide range of contained about 0.8% asiaticoside, and the
conditions, some races prefer light shade, subsequent harvest yielded about 1.1%.
while others do well in open sunny areas Similar works done by Singh et al. (1999)
(Zainal Abidin and Kamarudin 2005). showed significant differences in asiaticoside
Centella asiatica is usually propagated and madecassoside contents of C. asiatica
using rhizomes/runners containing roots, collected at different regions of India. The

44
 M.S. Rosalizan, M.Y. Rohani, I. Khatijah and M.A. Shukri

contents of asiaticoside and madecassoside with running tap water and the chemical
were higher (0.54– 4.42%) in materials and physical analyses were done directly
collected from Udampur, the northern region after harvest. At each stage, the plants were
of India. harvested in four replicates and each bed
The nutritional and mineral component was considered a replicate. Immediately
is also an important factor in determining after harvest, the yield of the herbs from
the quality of the herbs. Studies by Lee and each bed was recorded. Ten clumps were
Chichester (1974) indicated that the nutrient then randomly selected per replicate for
composition of the plants during maturation various analyses: physical, chemical,
was influenced by factors such as genetics, nutritional, mineral and triterpene contents.
agronomic practices, region and rate of
growth, variety and climatic conditions. Physical analysis
It was reported that 100 g of edible portion Six factors were analysed, namely the
of fresh leaves of C. asiatica contains length of the whole plant, culm length, root
water (88 g), protein (2 g), fat (0.2 g), length, width and colour of leaves as well as
carbohydrate (7 g), fibre (1.6 g), Ca (170 g), moisture content. The length of whole plant,
P (32 mg), provitamin A (4.5 mg) and culm length, root length and width of leaves
vitamin C (49 mg) (de Padua et al. 1999). were physically measured using a stainless
However, no research has been done steel ruler.
correlating the chemical and nutritional Leaf colour was measured on the leaf
contents of C. asiatica at different stages surface by randomly selecting 10 leaves per
of maturity. As far as we know, there is no clump. Changes in colour were measured
information available in the literature about using a Minolta CR300 Chromameter which
changes in physicochemical characteristic expressed colour in three numerical notation
of C. asiatica at different stages of maturity. system as L*, a* and b* values. L* denotes
The objective of this study was to determine the lightness and darkness of the colour
the content of bioactive compounds while a* and b* denote the hues which
of C. asiatica and its physicochemical represented two colour axes with a* the
characteristic at different stages of maturity. red-green axis and b* the yellow-blue. The
chroma (C*) which indicates the intensity
Materials and methods of the colour was also calculated using the
Plant materials formula C* = √(a2 + b2).
Centella asiatica var. Nyonya was obtained Moisture contents of the plant at
from a farmer’s plot in Paya Rumput, different stages of maturity were determined
Melaka. The plants were planted on soil using the air-oven method (AOAC 1984).
beds measuring 3 m x 1 m and allowed The herb was homogenized in a blender and
to grow by applying standard agronomic 10 –15 g of the blended sample was dried in
practices (Zainal Abidin 2004). On each the oven overnight at 105 °C until a constant
bed, five rows of plants were planted. The weight was obtained. The percentage of
farmer was allowed to harvest 70% of the moisture content was calculated based on
first crop at 80–90 days after transplanting. the amount of weight loss.
The remaining 30% of the plant population
was allowed to grow as ratoon crops. They Chemical analysis
were harvested at 50, 60 and 70 days after The pH was measured by blending the herb
the first harvest by pulling the whole plants at room temperature and readings were
out of the ground. taken using the HANNA digital pH meter
The herb was then transported to the model Ph 211. The percentage of total
Postharvest Laboratory, MARDI for further soluble solids (TSS) was measured using
analysis. The whole plants were washed a digital refractometer (ATAGO – model

45
Nutrient and triterpene content of Centella asiatica at different maturity stages

DBX  55). The total titratable acidity (TTA) 4–5 days and then ground into fine powder
was determined from a sample of extracted before the extraction procedure. Five
juice by titration with an alkaline solution grammes of the powdered samples was
(0.1 N NaOH ) until pH 8.1 (Askar and extracted with 200 ml methanol for 16 h
Treptow 1993). Chlorophyll content of the using soxhlet method. The crude extracts
leaves was measured as SPAD values using of C. asiatica were subjected to Thin Layer
the Minolta Chlorophyll meter (Model Chromatographic (TLC) analysis which was
SPAD 500). performed on commercially available Merck
DC-Alufolien (20 x 20 cm) TLC aluminium
Nutritional analysis sheet precoated with Kieselgel 60 P254 with
Analyses for protein, fat, ash and crude 0.2 mm in thickness. The eluent used for
fibre were carried out according to the TLC analysis was hexane and chloroform
methods of AOAC (1984) and Tee et with ratio 2.5:7.5 respectively. This analysis
al. (1996). Carbohydrate was calculated would indicate the presence of the four
by difference. Vitamin A was analysed compounds.
by high performance liquid chromatography For quantitative analysis of the
(Waters LC Module 1 Plus) according to triterpene compounds, the C. asiatica
Khatijah (2001). Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) extracts were analysed using the High
was determined using the indophenol-dye Performance Liquid Chromatography
titration method (Tee et al. 1996). The herb (HPLC) equipment. The analysis was carried
was blended with aqueous solution of out with Waters HPLC system, comprising
metaphosforic acid and acetic acid mixture Waters 600E System Controller, Waters
(15 g metaphosforic acid + 40 ml acetic acid 2996 Photodiode Array Detector, a personal
+ 200 ml water) and the filtrate was titrated computer with Empower Pro software and
with 2,6 dichlorophenolindophenol dye. Rheodyne injector. The column used was
The end point of titration is detected when LiChrospher 100RP 18 5 µm, 125 x 4 mm.
the dye gives a rose pink colour in acid The detection wavelength was set at 205 nm.
solution (Tee et al. 1996). The mobile phase used for the separation
was water (solvent A) and acetonitrile
Mineral analysis (solvent B) each containing 0.05% H3PO4
Minerals were acquired by pre-treating at a flow rate of 1.3 ml/min. The volume
the samples by dry ashing at 550 °C of injection was 20 µl. The buffers were
and dissolving them in nitric acid before degassed by flushing continuously with
injecting into an inductive coupled helium. At the end of each programme, the
plasma emission spectrophotometer (ICP) column was equilibrated with the initial
(Khatijah 2001). solvent for 10 min.

Triterpene content analysis Statistical analysis

Four triterpene compounds were identified A completely randomized design was used
as the pharmacological active ingredients for the experimental set up with three
in C. asiatica: asiatic acid, asiaticoside, treatments (days of harvest of ratoon crop
madecassic acid and madecassoside. The – 50, 60, 70 days) and four replicates. Data
extraction method used for determining the were analysed statistically using analysis
triterpene contents of C. asiatica was similar of variance (ANOVA) (Steel and Torrie
to the method reported by Nadarajah et al. 1980) and the differences among the means
(2001). Samples were washed and left to from four replicates were determined for
dry at room temperature before the fresh significance at p <0.05 using Duncan
weight of the plants were taken. Samples multiple range test (SAS Inst. 1990).
were then dried in the oven at 40  °C for

46
 M.S. Rosalizan, M.Y. Rohani, I. Khatijah and M.A. Shukri

Results and discussion a* and b* were higher in mature plants.

Changes in physical attributes These values showed the mature plants
During growth, there was not much change were greener as compared to young plants
in the physical characteristics of the ratoon (Table 2). This was also reflected in the
crops of C. asiatica var. Nyonya. At each chlorophyll content which was higher when
stage of harvest, no statistical differences harvested at 60 days after ratooning.
(p <0.05) were found in whole plant length,
leaf width, root length and culm length Changes in chemical attributes
(Table 1). At 50 –70 days of harvest, the The total soluble solids (TSS) increased
plant length varied from 40–45 cm, leaf significantly (p <0.05) from 4.42 °Brix
width 4.5–5.6 cm, root length 9–11 cm at 50 days of harvest to 6.94 °Brix as the
and culm length 32–35 cm. Similarly, the maturity stages increased. The increment in
yield was also not statistically different at the TSS probably due to rapid conversion
different maturity stages (27–33 t/ha). of starch to sugar. The formation of organic
However, the moisture content was acids during maturation was also observed
slightly higher in the young plant (92% by the correspondent increase in titratable
at 50 days of harvest) and decreased acidity. Titratable acidity increased up to
significantly to 88– 89% at 60 and 70 days 0.18% at 60 days of harvest but declined
of harvest (Table 2). This was probably due thereafter (Table 3). Conversely, the pH was
to loss of water from the leaves and increase observed to be lower at 60 days of harvest
in the dry matter content of the herb as the and then increased to 5.95 at 70 days of
maturity stage increased. The intensity of harvest in accordance with the reduction
the green colour of the leaves, C* values in the total titratable acidity. The result
(chroma) was low in young plants but indicated that ratoon crops harvested at
increased significantly to 35.12 at 70 days 60 days are more acidic than younger or
of harvest. The chromaticity coordinates older plant.

Table 1. Yield and growth of ratoon crop of Centella asiatica harvested at different stages of maturity

Stages of Yield (t/ha) Length of Culm length Root length Width of

maturity whole plant (cm) (cm) leaves
(days) (cm) (cm)
50 28.84 ± 0.43a 40.25 ± 3.71a 31.75 ± 3.34a 10.53 ± 1.01a 5.63 ± 0.44a
60 27.20 ± 1.41a 45.30 ± 2.78a 35.11 ± 4.27a 10.20 ± 1.77a 5.51 ± 0.41a
70 32.65 ± 0.18a 42.28 ± 4.08a 32.61 ± 4.98a 8.98 ± 1.84a 4.49 ± 0.50a
Mean 29.56 42.61 33.16 9.90 5.21
C.V. 14.19 8.36 12.69 16.04 9.09
Significant level   ns   ns   ns   ns   ns

Table 2. Moisture content and colour (L, a*, b* and C* values) of ratoon crop of Centella asiatica
harvested at different stages of maturity

Stages of Moisture L value a* value b* value C* value

maturity content
(days) (%)
50 92.1 ± 0.82a 43.3 ± 3.87b –15.7 ± 2.60a 24.6 ± 5.92b 29.19 ± 1.74
60 88.3 ± 0.94b 44.1 ± 0.2b –14.8 ± 0.24a 21.3 ± 0.23b 25.91 ± 0.56b
70 88.6 ± 0.52b 46.4 ± 0.94a –19.4 ± 2.0b 29.4 ± 3.31a 35.12 ± 3.76a
Mean 89.67 44.60 –16.63 25.10 30.07
C.V. 14.49   1.66 6.56 9.27 8.23
Significant level 0.05   0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05

47
Nutrient and triterpene content of Centella asiatica at different maturity stages

Changes in ntrients and minerals decrease in moisture content of C. asiatica

Centella asiatica has substantial amount as the maturity stage increased (Table 2).
of nutrients such as protein and vitamin The results in Table 5 indicate that the
C, and minerals such as Na, K, Mg, Fe, plant was rich in minerals particularly Ca
Zn, P, and Ca. The plant contained about and K. It was also a good source of K with
3–3.5% protein with very little fat in level ranging from 342– 433 mg/100 g. The
the plant tissues. There is no significant highest level of K was found in samples
difference in the amount of protein at the harvested at 60 days after ratooning. There
various stages of maturity. However, the was no significant increase in the K content
ascorbic acid content decreased significantly by delaying the harvest time. The Ca content
at p <0.05 with advance in maturity. increased significantly (p <0.05) at 60 and
The highest level of vitamin C content 70 days of harvest. The presence of high
(15.33 ± 0.35 mg/ 100 g) was observed in levels of these elements indicates that the
the young plant (50 days of harvest) and plant could provide alternative sources of K
began to decline as the maturity increased and Ca in our diets. The levels of Na, Mg,
(Table 4). The decrease in the level of Fe, Zn and P also increased significantly
vitamin C during maturation is probably (p <0.05) as the maturity stages increased
due to biochemical oxidation. Vitamin C is (Table 5).
easily oxidized in the presence of oxygen
by both enzymic and non-enzymic catalysts Changes in triterpene contents
(Mapson 1970). Seung and Kader (2000) Development of triterpene compounds was
reported that conditions favourable to water affected by the harvest dates. This was
loss after harvest result in rapid loss of observed in the contents of madecassic acid,
vitamin C especially in leafy vegetables. asiaticoside and madecassoside. Their levels
This finding can be correlated with the were significantly different at p <0.05 with

Table 3. Chemical attributes of Centella asiatica harvested at different stages of maturity

Stages of pH Titratable Total Chlorophyll

maturity acidity soluble solids content
(days) (%) (°Brix) (SPAD value)
50 5.52 ± 0.08b 0.11 ± 0.63b 4.42 ± 0.02c 34.9 ± 1.10ab
60 5.22 ± 0.12c 0.18 ± 0.48a 5.21 ± 0.01b 37.4 ± 1.48a
70 5.95 ± 0.07a 0.12 ± 0.61b 6.94 ± 0.01a 33.84 ± 0.61b
Mean 5.56 0.14 5.52 35.38
C.V. 1.67 9.38 10.71 6.49
Significant level 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05

Table 4. Protein, fat, ash and vitamin C of Centella asiatica harvested at different stages
of maturity

Stages of Protein Fat Ash Vitamin C

maturity (g/100 g) (g/100 g) (g/100 g) (mg/100 g)
(days)
50 3.23 ± 0.35a 0.23 ± 0.01a 1.31 ± 0.03b 15.33 ± 0.35a
60 3.25 ± 0.39a 0.20 ± 0.01b 1.27 ± 0.03b 13.30 ± 0.12b
70 3.53 ± 0.36a 0.19 ± 0.01b 1.58 ± 0.15a 13.92 ± 0.29ab
Mean 3.33 0.21 1.39 14.18
C.V. 1.23 5.43 6.91 7.96
Significant level ns 0.05 0.05 0.05

48
 M.S. Rosalizan, M.Y. Rohani, I. Khatijah and M.A. Shukri

advance in maturity (Figure 1). However,

74.68 ± 12.1a   1.24 ± 0.82a

86.57 ± 4.22a   1.29 ± 0.67a
59.6 ± 3.77b   0.89 ± 0.1b
the amount was higher at 60 days of harvest
and decreased significantly at 70 days of

73.62   1.14
15.74
Significant level   0.05    0.05   0.05   0.05   0.05   0.05   0.05
Zinc
harvest. The decline is probably due to
degradation of terpenoid content as the plant
matured. The only triterpene compound
not affected by the harvest date was the
asiatic acid content. This compound was
Calcium

not significantly different at all stages of

10.98
maturity (Figure 1). Its amount stabilized at
0.03–0.04 mg/100 g from 50 to 70 days of
harvest.
16.27 ± 0.88b
21.51 ± 1.39a
24.10 ± 3.47a
Phosphorus

Conclusion
Nutrient and terpene contents of C. asiatica
20.63
22.04   8.83

were influenced by stages of maturity.

Table 5. Mineral contents (mg/100 g) of Centella asiatica harvested at different stages of maturity

Among the triterpene compounds,

asiaticoside, madecassoside and madecassic
12.11 ± 1.72b   3.67 ± 0.52b
16.77 ± 3.25a   5.15 ± 1.68b
11.49 ± 1.98a

acid were found highest at 60 days of

harvest as compared to those harvested at
15.48   6.77

50 and 70 days. Furthermore, the plant was

Iron

rich in potassium when harvested at 60  days

after ratooning. Other nutrients such as
sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, zink and
17.56 ± 1.53a
Magnesium

iron increased with advance in maturity.

The plant also contained substantial amount
14.88

of protein and very little fat at all stages

of maturity, but the amount of vitamin C
0.14
341.67 ± 11.38b

418.32 ± 73.89a

Asiatic acid
60   8.17 ± 2.73ab 432.85 ± 46.5a

0.12 Madecassic acid

0.1
Potassium

mg/100 g

0.08
397.61
21.24   10.98

0.06
0.04 ◆ ◆
◆

0.02
50   5.76 ± 0.68b

10.93 ± 1.83a

0
50 55 60 65 70 75
Sodium

1.4
Asiaticoside
Mean   8.29

◆
1.2 Madecassoside
1
mg/100 g

0.8 ◆
0.6
maturity (days)

0.4
0.2 ◆
Stages of

0
50 55 60 65 70 75
C.V.

Days of harvest
70

Figure 1. Changes in asiatic acid, madecassic

acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside contents of
Centella asiatica at 50–70 days of harvest

49
Nutrient and triterpene content of Centella asiatica at different maturity stages

decreased as the plant matured. The effect Mapson, L.W. (1970). Vitamins in fruits. In: The
of maturity stages on physical quality of Biochemistry of fruits and their products, p.
369–384. London and New York: Academic
C. asiatica was not significantly different
Press
except for colour of the leaves. Thus the Nadarajah, S., Mohd. Azlan, N., Azizol A.K. and
best time to harvest and consume the plant Ng, L.T. (2001). Preparation of pegaga
is 60 days after ratooning since most of (Centella asiatica) extracts and analysis of
the biologically active compounds were their triterpenes content. Report of Forest
observed highest at this stage of maturity. Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM),
Kepong
SAS Inst. (1990). SAS User’s guide. Version 6.03.
Acknowledgement Cary, North Carolina: Statistical Analysis
The authors wished to thank Ms Norjailami System Institute
Md. Jusoh and Ms Hairiyah Mat Ali for Sharma, J.R. (2000). Agrotechnology for
their help in conducting this experiment. mandookparni or gotukola (Centella asiatica).
Retrieved in 2004 from
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50
 M.S. Rosalizan, M.Y. Rohani, I. Khatijah and M.A. Shukri

Abstrak
Sifat fizikal, kandungan zat pemakanan dan sebatian triterpene Centella asiatica
var. Nyonya telah dikaji pada tiga tahap kematangan: 50, 60 dan 70 hari
selepas tumbuh semula atau ratun. Sifat fizikal C. asiatica seperti panjang
keseluruhan pokok, batang dan akar serta lebar daun tidak menunjukkan
perbezaan yang signifikan (p <0.05) pada tempoh kematangan yang berbeza.
Walau bagaimanapun, peratus kandungan lembapan didapati tinggi (92%) apabila
dituai pada 50 hari selepas ratun dan peratusannya menurun sehingga 88–89%
apabila dituai 60 hari dan 70 hari selepas ratun. Keamatan warna daun yang
diukur dengan nilai C* adalah rendah pada daun muda tetapi meningkat apabila
matang. Perubahan kandungan pepejal larut meningkat secara signifikan apabila
pokok semakin tua. Tahap kandungan asid tertitrat dan klorofil paling tinggi pada
tuaian 60 hari selepas ratun tetapi bacaan pH adalah terendah pada tahap ini.
Kandungan asid askorbik menurun secara signifikan apabila tempoh kematangan
meningkat. Pokok mengandungi Na, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, P dan Ca secara signifikan.
Kandungan K dan Ca meningkat dengan signifikan apabila pokok semakin
matang. Sebatian triterpene didapati berbeza pada tahap kematangan yang
berbeza. Kandungan asid asiatik tidak berbeza secara signifikan pada tempoh
tuaian yang berbeza. Namun begitu, kandungan asid madekasik, asiatikosida
dan madekasosida berbeza secara signifikan apabila tempoh kematangan
bertambah. Kandungan sebatian bioaktif tersebut tinggi 60 hari selepas ratun
dan berkurangan 70 hari selepas ratun. Oleh itu, dicadangkan tempoh masa yang
sesuai untuk menuai pegaga ratun ialah 60 hari selepas ratun memandangkan
kandungan bioaktifnya paling tinggi pada kematangan tersebut.

Accepted for publication on 9 May 2008

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