Gentian Yellow

Guarded. Gentians - Gentianaceae. Common name: bitter root. Parts used: root. Pharmacy name: gentian root - Gentianae radix (formerly: Radix Gentianae), gentian tincture - Gentianae tinctura (formerly: Tinctura Gentianae), gentian extract - Gentianae extractum (formerly: Extractum Gentianae).

Botanical description.
We provide a description of yellow gentian, since this species has been most used as a medicinal plant since ancient times. Not so long ago, for peasants in mountainous areas it was a malicious weed that had to be fought. Currently, this slender plant, reaching a height of approximately 1 m, is so severely exterminated that it is under strict protection.

The stem of the yellow gentian is not pubescent, hollow, and bears oppositely located large elliptical bluish-green leaves with well-defined arched venation; The leaf petioles become shorter and shorter as they move from the base of the stem to the top. The plant is perennial, with a long powerful root. Only after a few years it forms yellow flowers, grouped in false whorls.

Blooms in July-August (September). It is found mainly on calcareous soils in the Alps and other mountains in south-central and southern Europe.

Active ingredients: bitters (mainly gentiopicrin and the recently discovered very valuable bitterness amarogentin), some tannins and essential oil.

Healing action and application.
Medicinal raw material - gentian root, which contains bitterness. Other components are of subordinate importance. The tannin content is insignificant, which is very important for the use of gentian as a gastric tonic, since there is no unwanted irritant effect. Loss of appetite, insufficient secretion of gastric juice, bloating, as well as spasms and lethargy of the stomach and intestines can be successfully treated with gentian tea or ready-made gentian drops. Gentian, in addition, enhances the secretion of bile.

Bitterness acts, on the one hand, upon contact with the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, causing healing reflexes, on the other hand, after absorption by the body. When using gentian, one should distinguish which stomach function is impaired. For a sluggish stomach that produces little juice, gentian is just the remedy you need; but if you have a stomach that is sensitive to irritation and has high acidity, it cannot be used. In these cases, lemon balm, cumin, navel, anise or fennel are better suited.

The German National Health Service treats gentian root as a proven remedy for stimulating appetite and for stomach diseases with insufficient formation of gastric juice. There are contraindications for stomach and intestinal ulcers.

Another method of preparation, in which the final product contains not so much bitterness and has no tannins at all (thus, softer in action), is infusion without boiling, which lasts over 8-10 hours (with the same initial amount of roots and water) . An interesting statement by Professor Glatzl is that gentian increases blood circulation.

Use in folk medicine.
Diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver and gall bladder - these are the main areas of application of gentian in folk medicine. This has been known since the time of Hippocrates (V-GU centuries BC), the same instructions are contained in Dioscorides and Pliny. Galen also recommended gentian for rheumatism and gout. These indications were also adopted by medieval doctors, and their knowledge was adopted by folk herbalists. In the herbal book of Hieronymus Bock (1557) we read: “The most commonly used root in Germany is gentian. There is no better stomach medicine than gentian. Whatever heaviness is felt in the body and stomach, it is expelled by gentian, calamus or ginger.” Sebastian Kneipp was also of the opinion that anyone who has sage, wormwood, caraway and gentian in stock has practically all the necessary pharmacy. The use of gentian as an anthelmintic is often practiced