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 even found high in the mountains. Great healers drew attention to some species, or rather their medicinal properties in ancient times, and later they began to be used in medicine in many countries.
Officially recognized species include:
- gentian yellow (Gentiana lutea);
- cruciform (Gentiana cruciata).
In addition to these species, large-leaved and pulmonary gentian are successfully used in folk medicine. The name of the genus was given in honor of the Illyrian king Gentius. According to historians, he used this medicinal plant during the plague.
Description of the plant
Gentian is a perennial (much less often -annual) herbs or shrubs, 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. Gentian root is short and thick, with thin long roots. The stems are straight and short.
Plants have beautiful flowers. For example, gentian (bitter root) stemless Corona is valued by landscape designers for its beautiful flowers that bloom in late spring. They are bell-shaped with bright blue petals. This spectacular ground cover is used to decorate the banks of artificial reservoirs, decorate rocky areas and fill borders.
In most species, the flowers are few, solitary. The corolla is bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, in exceptional cases the leaves straighten out, forming a plate of petals. Gentian fruit is a bivalve box that grows from a single-celled ovary. In most cases, the color of gentian petals is blue (various shades), purple, blue, white, yellow.
Flowering may occur depending on the type of plant - from late spring to autumn.
Gentian yellow
This species is most often used not only in folk, but also in official medicine. This is a tall perennial plant - up to 120 cm. The strong and thick root of yellow gentian is a storehouse of useful substances. 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 B altic countries.
Gentian yellow blooms from June to August. This type of plant has been well known to herbalists since ancient Egypt and Rome. Its properties were first described by a medieval physician from Germany, Hieronymus Bock. Yellow gentian has been successfully used to treat the plague. In ancient times, it was one of the main means in the fight against the "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.
Activate the secretion and peristalsis of the stomach bitter glycosides. It promotes digestion of food and improves appetite. Gentianin has antitussive, sedative and anticonvulsant effects. The biologically active substances that make up the plant have a number of healing properties. So, glycosides reduce the tone in the stomach and intestines, have an analgesic effect.
Traditional healers note that preparations based on gentian root help to effectively fight coughs, lower fever, and relieve inflammation in the airways. Gentian yellow is included in many countries of the world in collections of medicinal herbs. Medicines for gastritis and dyspepsia are prepared from it. Antispasmodic and choleretic dosage forms are made from gentian root.
The plant containsmore than ten phenolcarboxylic acids, which increase the body's defenses and help strengthen the immune system. In addition, the plant effectively cleanses the intestines of toxins.
Gentian roots: indications for use
To date, 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, effectively treat gout and tuberculosis. The herb and roots of the plant are used for muscle pain, inflammation of the joints, injuries, bruises and wounds.
The properties of gentian root are used for the manufacture of dosage forms for external and internal use. Plant-based preparations treat heartburn and scurvy, helminthic invasion and flatulence, dysentery and allergies. Cases of successful treatment of malaria, cough and hepatitis have been recorded. Gentian root decoctions, which have antimicrobial properties, are used to treat skin rashes, wash wounds, and get rid of excessive sweating. They eliminate the loss of voice, relieve indomitable vomiting, help fight poisoning.
Gentian root is used in the production of some vodkas, liqueurs and beers. It gives 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,found in gentian, as in most medicinal plants.
Due to the high content of bitterness, preparations based on roots are contraindicated for people with high acidity. They should not be taken by pregnant women and 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 supervision.
Contraindications to the use of gentian roots also apply to people suffering from high blood pressure. When using drugs based on this plant, it is very important to follow the dosage indicated in the recipes. Its excess can cause side effects - headaches, dizziness, redness on the skin.
Effective Recipes
Knowing the medicinal properties and contraindications of gentian roots and after consulting a doctor, you can begin treatment. We offer you the most effective recipes of traditional healers.
Tea to improve blood circulation
Finely chop the root of the plant (one teaspoon) and fill it with 0.25 liters of water. Boil the composition on low heat for three minutes. It is recommended to drink warm tea before breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Another way of making tea, which is characterized by a milder effect due to less bitterness andthe absence of tannins. To prepare it, a teaspoon of raw materials is poured with boiling water (0.25 l) and infused for 8-10 hours.
Powder
This medicine is easy to prepare. Gentian root is dried and ground to a powder with a blender. The powder is used as a powder for the treatment of purulent wounds. You can add crushed chamomile flowers to it, which will enhance the effect of the drug.
The healing properties of gentian root in powder form can also be used for internal use three times a day, a small pinch before meals. This will help activate the digestion process and improve appetite.
Decoctions
Gentian yellow root was included in the well-known phytotherapeutic preparations - "Swedish bitterness" Taissa, Bittner's balm, based on old recipes of folk healers. Healing decoctions can be prepared in several ways.
Recipe 1
A tablespoon of dried and chopped raw materials, pour 250 ml of water and soak over low heat for 10 minutes. Take this remedy should be 20 ml a quarter of an hour before meals. The decoction will help improve your appetite.
Recipe 2
Pour in water (700 ml) three tablespoons (teaspoons) of dry raw materials 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 100 ml 20 minutes before meals. Such a decoction can be used to treat arthritis, gout, rheumatism.
Infusion
To prepare the infusion, you need crushed gentian roots (a tablespoon), pour boiled water (0.5 l) and leave overnight. In the morning, the infusion is filtered and taken 125 ml before meals. The infusion will help with biliary dyskinesia.
Alcohol tincture
To prepare an alcohol tincture, 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 drug is taken three times a day, 35 drops, dissolving in water. Gentian root tincture can treat heartburn and improve appetite.
Tincture of wine
Pour 500 ml of strong red wine 50 g of roots, insist 21 days. This remedy is to be taken for persistent heartburn and loss of 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 be the result of hormonal changes in the body. If the feet are affected by a fungus, an unpleasant odor is inevitable, especially when a person wears tight shoes made of artificial materials.
Therapeutic baths will help get rid of this problem. To do this, a decoction of gentian root and oak bark is added to the water. To prepare it, 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.
Constipation treatment
This pathologyoccurs due to disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. You can cope with it with the help of tincture, which is prepared according to the recipe described above. In addition, gentian root is part of various laxative herbal teas and tinctures. We offer you a recipe for one of them.
Three tablespoons (teaspoons) of rhubarb and gentian roots are poured with high-quality vodka (300 ml) and infused for ten days in a dark place. The tincture is taken twice a day, 10 drops diluted in ½ glass 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, a phytocollection will help, which includes the root of the plant we are considering.
It is necessary to take in equal parts flaxseed, mint, succession, three-leaf watch, Japanese Sophora and gentian root. All components are mixed. Then pour a spoonful of the mixture with a glass of boiling water, boil over very low heat for 10 minutes. The decoction is insisted for an hour, divided into three parts and taken one part before each meal. Treatment continues for a month.
How to get rid of rheumatism and arthritis?
These are very dangerous diseases that cause suffering to patients. Begins in the jointsinflammation. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to move, which often leads to disability. Severe pain is accompanied by inflammation of the joints, a person begins to take a lot of painkillers, which negatively affects the digestive organs and the gastric mucosa.
Decoctions of gentian root for rheumatism and arthritis are used both for oral administration and for compresses to help relieve pain and reduce inflammation. The decoction is prepared as follows. Four tablespoons of raw materials (you can use not only the roots, but also the grass of the plant) are poured with a liter of boiling water and kept for a quarter of an hour in a water bath. After that, the drug is infused for several hours. Then it must be filtered and can be taken. The course of treatment continues depending on the patient's condition from a month to one and a half. Inside take the composition of ½ cup half an hour before meals.
To restore appetite
During a course of chemotherapy, a person quite often suffers from digestive disorders, his appetite decreases or disappears. Official medicine has a lot of drugs to help deal with this problem. However, not everyone and not always can take them. In this case, gentian can help.
According to reviews, preparations based on it quite quickly normalize appetite without causing 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 choppedroots are poured with boiling water (300 ml) and infused for several hours.
