Pegaga – Not just a meal.
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Pegaga is mostly found at Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Madagascar and southern region of US and Africa. It easily grows on the warm ground, low and wet areas of both hemispheres, especially abundant in the swampy areas of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka up to an altitude of approximately 700 meters.
Traditionally pegaga is put inside the Malay meal. It is so delicious eating with salads and vegetable. You can find this kind of meal at malay restaurant especially at Malaysia and Indonesia until now. The fragrant leaves can act as an appetizer. We can either eat it raw or cook it as part of a soup. The local people believe that pegaga will help to promote wound healing.
On scientific name pegaga is called Centella asiatica. It is a polymorphous, creeping plant, rooting at nodes, with sometimes significant tap root, cylindrical and glabrous stems. This plant, dried and crushed, has been used in the treatment of leprosy, bronchitis, asthma, syphilis, and as a wound healing agent.
