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Gentian
Root
(Gentiana
lutea)
COMMON NAMES: Bitterroot, bitterwort, gentian, yellow gentian, pale gentian, fleawort, gentian root.
MEDICINAL PART: Root.
DESCRIPTION:
PROPERTIES AND USES: Stomachache, tonic, anathematic, antibilious. A most effective and reliable tonic. Purifies the blood. Good for liver complaints and dysentery. Most effective for jaundice. Excellent for the spleen. Gentian root will improve the appetite, strengthen the digestive organs, increase circulation, is beneficial to the female organs, and invigorates the entire system. Useful in fevers, colds, gout, convulsions, scrofula, and dyspepsia. It will expel worms. Excellent in suppressed menstruation and scanty urine. Because of its bitterness, it is better to combine gentian root with some aromatic herb. It is more effective than quinine. Allays poison from mad dog, insect, and snakebites.
Gentian root is called after Gentius, King of Elyria in the 1st century B.C. who is said to have discovered the plant’s medicinal properties. Gentian contains one of the bitterest substances known, the glycoside amarogentin. Its bitters improve the appetite, promoting digestive juices, peristalsis and the flow of bile. Gentian is also useful for gastro-intestinal inflammation and for controlling fevers. The root is used in many bitter liqueurs.
Caution:Large doses may cause vomiting.
