The huge gentian family includes more than 400 species of annual and perennial plants that grow in various regions - from hot countries to cold northern seas. They are found even high in the mountains. The great healers paid attention to some types, more precisely, their medicinal properties in ancient times, and later they began to be used in medicine in many countries.
The officially recognized species include:
- yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea);
- cruciform (Gentiana cruciata).
In addition to these species, in folk medicine, gentian large-leaved and pulmonary has been successfully used. The name of the clan was given in honor of the Illyrian king Gentius. According to historians, he used this medicinal plant during the plague epidemic.
Plant description
Gentian is a perennial (much less often annual) grass or shrub, the height of which can vary from 20 to 150 cm. The leaves of the plant are whole, opposite, fleshy. They lie at the very rhizome on the ground. The gentian root is short and thick, with thin long roots. The stems are straight and short.
Plants have beautiful flowers. For example, the gentian (bitter root) stemless Corona appreciate landscape designers for the beautiful flowers that open in late spring. They are bell-shaped with bright blue petals. This spectacular groundcover is used to decorate the shores of artificial ponds, design rocky areas and fill curbs.
In most species, the flowers are small, single. The corolla is bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, in exceptional cases the leaves are straightened, forming a plate of petals. Gentian fruit is a bivalve box that grows from a single-ovary ovary. In most cases, the color of the gentian petals is blue (various shades), purple, blue, white, yellow.
Flowering can occur depending on the type of plant - from late spring to autumn.
Yellow gentian
This species is most often used not only in folk, but also in official medicine. This tall perennial plant - up to 120 cm. The strong and thick root of yellow gentian is a storehouse of nutrients. In our country, this species is found only in the mountains of the Tlyaratinsky district of Dagestan. Widely distributed in Europe, with the exception of Poland and the Baltic countries.
Yellow gentian blooms from June to August. This type of plant is well known to herbalists since ancient Egypt and Rome. Its properties were first described by a medieval doctor from Germany, Hieronymus Bock. Yellow gentian was successfully used to treat plague. In ancient times, it was one of the main means in the fight against "black death".
Composition
The plant has many useful properties, due to its chemical composition. Gentian roots contain:
- ascorbic acid;
- flavonoids;
- essential and fatty oils;
- inulin, sugar;
- tannins;
- pectins.
Bitter glycosides activate secretion, as well as gastric motility. This helps to digest food and improve appetite. Gentsianin has antitussive, sedative and anticonvulsant effects. The biologically active substances that make up the plant have a number of healing properties. So, glycosides reduce tone in the stomach and intestines, have an analgesic effect.
Traditional healers note that preparations based on gentian root help to effectively fight cough, lower the temperature, and relieve inflammation in the airways. Yellow gentian is included in many countries of the world in collections of medicinal herbs. From it, drugs are prepared for gastritis and dyspepsia. Antispasmodic and choleretic dosage forms are made from gentian root.
The plant contains more than ten phenolcarboxylic acids that increase the body's defenses and help strengthen immunity. In addition, the plant effectively cleanses the intestines of toxins.
Gentian roots: indications for use
Today this plant is well studied. Given the medicinal properties and contraindications of gentian root, traditional healers use drugs based on them to treat diseases of the gallbladder and liver, and effectively treat gout and tuberculosis. The grass and roots of the plant are used for muscle pain, joint inflammation, injuries, bruises and wounds.
Gentian root properties are used for the manufacture of dosage forms for external and internal use. Preparations based on the plant treat heartburn and scurvy, helminthic infestation and flatulence, dysentery and allergies. There have been cases of successful cure for malaria, cough and hepatitis. Decoctions of gentian roots with antimicrobial properties are used to treat skin rashes, wash wounds, and get rid of excessive sweating. They eliminate voice loss, relieve indomitable vomiting, and help fight poisoning.
Gentian root is used in the production of some varieties of vodka, liquor and beer. It gives the drinks an exquisite taste.
Contraindications
Before talking about the use of gentian root in the treatment of various diseases, it is necessary to consult with your doctor, especially in the presence of chronic diseases. This should be done to exclude possible contraindications that gentians have, like most medicinal plants.
Due to the high content of bitterness, root-based preparations are contraindicated in people with high acidity. They should not be taken by pregnant women, as well as nursing mothers. The plant can not only change the taste of milk, but also create a risk of increasing the tone of the uterus.
Many parents are interested in the possibility of using drugs to treat children. Can gentian root be given to babies? Up to three years, its use is not recommended. After this age, its use is allowed only after consultation with a pediatrician and under his strict control.
Contraindications to the use of gentian roots apply to people suffering from high blood pressure. When using drugs based on this plant, it is very important to observe the dosage indicated in the recipes. Exceeding it can cause side effects - headaches, dizziness, redness on the skin.
Effective Recipes
Knowing the medicinal properties and contraindications of gentian roots and after consulting with a doctor, you can proceed to treatment. We offer you the most effective recipes for traditional healers.
Tea for improving blood circulation
Finely chop the root of the plant (one teaspoon) and pour 0.25 liters of water into it. On low heat, boil the composition for three minutes. It is recommended that you drink warm tea before breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Another way of making tea, which is characterized by a milder effect due to less bitterness and the absence of tannins. For its preparation, a teaspoon of raw materials is poured with boiling water (0.25 l) and insisted for 8-10 hours.
Powder
This drug is easy to prepare. Gentian root is dried and pulverized using a blender. The powder is used as a powder for the treatment of purulent wounds. You can add chopped chamomile flowers to it, which will enhance the effect of the drug.
The medicinal properties of gentian root in powder form can be used for internal use three times a day with a small pinch before meals. This will help activate the digestion process and improve appetite.
Decoctions
The yellow gentian root was included in the well-known phytotherapeutic drugs - "The Swedish bitterness" of Taiss, Bittner's balm, based on ancient recipes of traditional healers. Healing decoctions can be prepared in several ways.
Recipe number 1
Pour a tablespoon of dried and crushed raw materials into 250 ml of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Take this tool should be 20 ml a quarter of an hour before meals. A decoction will help improve your appetite.
Recipe number 2
Pour three tablespoons (teaspoon) of dry raw materials with water (700 ml) and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. The composition should be infused for two hours, after which it should be filtered. The medicine is taken in 100 ml 20 minutes before a meal. Such a decoction can be used to treat arthritis, gout, rheumatism.
Infusion
To prepare the infusion, it is necessary to crush the gentian roots (tablespoon), pour boiled water (0.5 l) and leave overnight. In the morning, infusion is filtered and taken 125 ml before meals. The infusion will help with biliary duct dyskinesia.
Alcohol tincture
To prepare an alcohol tincture, it is necessary to pour 100 g of crushed plant roots with a liter of medical alcohol. The composition is infused for a week in a dark place. The medicine is taken three times a day, 35 drops, dissolving in water. Gentian root tincture can treat heartburn and improve appetite.
Wine tincture
Pour 500 ml of strong red wine 50 g of roots, insist 21 days. This remedy must be taken with persistent heartburn and decreased appetite.
Foot baths for sweating
This problem causes discomfort to a person due to a sharp unpleasant odor. Such a pathological condition can be inherited or result from hormonal changes in the body. When the foot is affected by a fungus, an unpleasant odor arises inevitably, especially when a person wears tight shoes made of artificial materials.
Healing baths will help get rid of this problem. To do this, a decoction of gentian root and oak bark is added to the water. For its preparation, three tablespoons of oak bark and five tablespoons of gentian are poured with a liter of boiling water and sent to a water bath for 15 minutes. The broth is insisted for about an hour.
Treatment of constipation
This pathology occurs due to disorders in the digestive tract. You can cope with it with the help of tincture, which is prepared according to the recipe described above. In addition, the gentian root is part of various laxative phyto-collections and tinctures. We offer you a recipe for one of them.
Three tablespoons (tea) of rhubarb and gentian roots are poured with high-quality vodka (300 ml) and insisted for ten days in a dark place. Tincture is taken twice a day, 10 drops diluted in ½ cup of water.
Gastritis treatment
Inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the stomach causes acute pain in the patient. In this case, digestion is disturbed, severe heartburn appears. It is difficult to cure this disease, quite often after a period of remission, it returns with renewed vigor.
Traditional healers have long used gentian to treat this disease. It must be remembered that the plant can only be used by patients with low acidity. From this disease phyto-collection will help, which includes the root of the plant we are considering.
It is necessary to take in equal parts flaxseed, mint, succession, three-leafed shift, Japanese sophora and gentian root. All components are mixed. Then pour a glass of boiling water with a spoonful of the mixture, boil it over very low heat for 10 minutes. The broth is insisted for an hour, divided into three parts and taken one part before each meal. Treatment lasts for a month.
How to get rid of rheumatism and arthritis?
These are very dangerous diseases that cause suffering to patients. Initially, inflammation begins in the joints. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to move, which often leads to disability. Strong pain accompany inflammation of the joints, a person begins to take many painkillers, which negatively affects the digestive organs and gastric mucosa.
Decoctions from gentian root for rheumatism and arthritis are used both for oral administration and for compresses that help relieve pain and reduce the manifestations of inflammatory processes. The broth is prepared as follows. Four tablespoons of raw materials (you can use not only the roots, but also the grass of the plant) is poured with a liter of boiling water and kept for a quarter hour in a water bath. After this, the drug is infused for several hours. Then it must be filtered and can be taken. The course of treatment continues depending on the condition of the patient from a month to a half. Inside, take a composition of ½ cup half an hour before meals.
To restore appetite
When conducting a course of chemotherapy, a person often suffers from digestive disorders, his appetite decreases or disappears. Official medicine has many drugs to help combat this problem. However, not everyone can not always accept them. In this case, gentian can help.
According to reviews, rather quickly, preparations based on it normalize appetite without causing any negative reactions. Infusion of gentian root will not only improve appetite, but also relieve heartburn. To do this, during the day before meals, you must take an infusion prepared according to the following recipe: a tablespoon of crushed roots is poured with boiling water (300 ml) and insisted for several hours.