Quick answer: madecassoside and “centella / cica” are not one purchasing line. Madecassoside is a single saponin INCI. Centella Asiatica Extract is a multi-marker botanical powder. Order the page that matches the brief; do not let warehouse shorthand collapse both into one “cica” SKU.
Madecassoside for Skin: What to Specify Before You Sample covers the isolate powder. This page separates it from the extract and from the other Centella markers on this site.
Extract and isolate are different assays
Centella Asiatica Extract is a light yellow to brown powder from the leaf and stem. Its specification assays total triterpenes at 20% or higher, and it names four markers: asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid. It dissolves in water and ethanol. A total-triterpene number does not say how much of that total is madecassoside.
Madecassoside is one of those four, sold as an isolate. PubChem lists C48H78O20 and molecular weight about 975.1, CAS 34540-22-2. This grade is a white to off-white powder, assayed by HPLC as madecassoside at 90% or higher. An extract order and a madecassoside order are not interchangeable on the COA or on the formula sheet.
Cica is a nickname, not an INCI
Cica is a trade nickname for Centella asiatica. It is not an INCI name. A formula that says “cica” still has to pick the extract, madecassoside, asiaticoside, or an aglycone—and write that choice on the purchase order.
If purchasing only wrote “cica powder,” ask which INCI and which assay method before you request a sample. That one clarification usually prevents a wrong carbohydrate-style mix-up on a botanical line.
The other three markers
Asiaticoside is the other major saponin. A review of the Centella triterpenes gives it as C48H78O19, molecular weight about 959.12. The product page lists CAS 16830-15-2. Madecassoside has one more oxygen atom, at C-6 of the ursane skeleton. The two CAS numbers do not cover each other. Asiaticoside on this site is sparingly soluble in cold water and is commonly dissolved in ethanol or a glycol—not with the same warm-water habit as this madecassoside grade.
Madecassic Acid is madecassoside without the sugars. Asiatic Acid is asiaticoside without the sugars. Both aglycone pages list them as insoluble in water and soluble in ethanol, glycols, or warm lipids. Hydrolysis below pH 4, noted on the madecassoside specification, is the practical reason not to treat the glycoside and the aglycone as the same lot.
You can place an extract and an isolate in one chassis when the brief wants both a broad Centella story and a controlled madecassoside percent. That is two SKUs, two COAs, two assay methods.
What changes on the purchase order
| Field | Madecassoside | Centella Asiatica Extract (this site) |
|---|---|---|
| INCI | Madecassoside | Centella Asiatica Extract |
| Common CAS | 34540-22-2 | Botanical extract (confirm on pack) |
| Typical assay | HPLC madecassoside ≥90% | Total triterpenes ≥20% (four markers named) |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Light yellow to brown powder |
| Typical ask | Discrete Centella saponin | Multi-marker Centella extract |
| Process note | Warm water or glycol pre-dissolve; pH 5.0–7.5 | Water / ethanol soluble per TDS |
What to put in the sample or quote email
- Exact INCI: Madecassoside or Centella Asiatica Extract (or Asiaticoside / aglycone if that is the brief)
- Matching CAS for the isolate you want
- Assay method and target (HPLC madecassoside vs total triterpenes)
- The formula job in one line (isolate saponin vs multi-marker extract) so the wrong powder is not substituted
- If both are needed, two separate lines with two pack sizes
Documents and samples for the isolate are on the Madecassoside page. The extract has its own Centella Asiatica Extract page. Send the inquiry to the page that matches the INCI you locked.
