The yellow gentian is part of a genus, gentianaceae, which according to botanists includes at least 400 species all over the world.
They are generally small plants with blue flowers while the yellow gentian is large and has very yellow flowers.
The yellow gentian is found in the mountain ranges of southern Europe mainly between 400m and 1700m.
It is present in France especially in the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Massif Central. But it is also found in the Jura, the Vosges and Corsica.
It is a plant threatened by cultural practices, disorderly or excessive wild harvesting and perhaps also climate change.
It is in the Massif Central (Auvergne, Cantal, Aubrac, Forez) that we can easily see them in unmown high altitude meadows (alpine pastures), light woods, wood edges, ditches and fields. a little abandoned.
The yellow gentian is a perennial plant by its underground parts (it disappears in winter), in spring it develops leaves opposite to the veins well marked in rosettes near the ground and, if the plant is a few years old, a floral stem which can reach 1 to 1.5m .
This very vertical stem has sessile, opposite, ribbed leaves that embrace the stem.
The yellow flowers develop at the base of these leaves, especially in the “upper layers”, at the top of the flower stem.
The underground parts, rhizome and roots are well developed, buried deep in the ground, whitish in color, and are the interesting parts of this plant (medicinal and aromatic).
BITTER AND AROMATIC GENTIAN ROOT to whet the appetite and facilitate digestion
When the tongue’s specialized taste buds detect bitter substances they send signals to the brain and digestive organs:
- “be careful of possible toxic substances”,
- + increased salivation,
- + increased digestive secretions in the stomach,
- + slight increase in secretion and excretion of bile by the liver and gallbladder,
- + strengthening of blood flow in the abdominal region.
These effects combine to give appetite (appetizer effect) and to facilitate the start of food digestion (in the stomach and duodenum).
Gentian root contains very bitter substances (lactone-functional iridoids including amarogentin, as well as carbohydrates such as gentianose.
It also contains xanthones such as mangiferin, a mood regulator (anti-depressant) and with cosmetological properties. as well as a small amount of alkaloids (also bitter).
PREPARATIONS based on gentian root are therefore interesting:
- to whet the appetite,
- to facilitate digestion (eupeptic effect),
- to a lesser extent facilitate intestinal transit (against constipation)
- to give a feeling of well-being or increased tone.
USAGE EXAMPLES
- TISANE from gentian root:
A few slices of fresh or dry roots in boiling water, leave to infuse for 15 to 30 minutes, add, depending on your tolerance for bitterness, a little sugar or honey or stevia to reduce the bitterness , one cup twice a day before or after a meal. - ALCOHOLIC TINCTURE of gentian root (1/10) if possible from the fresh plant broken into fine slices: 10 to 30 drops of tincture in a glass of water twice a day before or after a meal.
- There are many ARTISANAL RECIPES using wine or brandy.
GENTIAN ALCOHOL, GENTIAN LIQUEUR.
The finely fragmented gentian roots and rhizomes covered with water are fermented for several weeks at 20°C and the fermentation liquid is then distilled (gentian alcohol). Its alcoholic degree can then be adjusted and extracts of gentian can be added. aromatic plants or aromatic macerates or fruits to obtain a gentian liqueur.
There are many types of gentian liqueur in the West, the best known and most imitated in France is “suze”, a bitter and aromatic aperitif with a strength of 15°.
HARVESTING GENTIAN ROOTS
BE CAREFUL not to confuse the yellow GENTIAN plant with OPPOSITE leaves with the white VERATRE (very TOXIC) and somewhat similar in appearance but with ALTERNATING leaves.
Gentians most often grow on private land (high altitude meadows, woods), so permission from the owner is required to dig them up.
In “public” lands, local prohibitions must be respected, which vary depending on the region. Gentian is sometimes entirely protected or harvesting is regulated (example Corsica, Pyrenees, Alps).
Professionals dig up the gentian roots with mechanical means which vary between the pickaxe, the “devil’s fork” or the backhoe!.
If possible, only gentian roots that are at least ten years old are harvested, replanting the rhizome shoots to ensure the sustainability of the natural plantation.
The root system is deep and it is not easy to extract this brittle root in soil that is often compacted by the trampling of grazing cows.
We preserve the roots by fragmenting them and drying them, once completely dry they can be preserved without problem and we can either make an alcoholic maceration in ethyl alcohol at 60° (alcoholic tincture of gentian) or leave them to ferment and then distill them (gentian brandy).
They can also be crushed (the dry root is very hard) to make powder, which facilitates the diffusion of the active substances.
CULTIVATION OF YELLOW GENTIAN
It is possible to grow yellow gentian, but you have to be patient and perseverant!!
Gentian seeds germinate with difficulty and it takes 10 years for the root system to be well developed.
RELATED SPECIES TO YELLOW GENTIAN
We find in the Pyrenees a related endemic species with yellow flowers, the BURSER’S GENTIAN (Gentiana burseri) which sometimes hybridizes with the yellow gentian and whose root is used in the same way as that of the yellow gentian.
In the Alps, the PURPLE GENTIAN, Gentiana purpurea, is smaller than the yellow gentian, has reddish-brown flowers and a rhizome that is also bitter and aromatic.
There are many species of gentian in Asia often used in traditional medicine, let us cite Gentiana macrophylla « quin jiao », with beautiful blue flowers, it is recommended in China to treat lack of appetite, hepatobiliary and digestive disorders, such as tonic, to reduce fever and in case of joint pain.
Copyright 2024 Dr Jean-Michel HURTEL
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