Centaury (Centaurium erythraea synonm Centaurium umbellatum):
Centaury, the remedy for people who can’t say no to others, is made by the sun method.
It was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons (along with fennel, chervil, crab apple, nettle, betony, watercress, mugwort and plantain), one of the 15 magical herbs of the ‘Ancients’ and an ingredient in the 17th century remedy ‘The Duke of Portland’s Powder’, said to cure him of gout. If mixed with the blood of a female hoopoe bird and the mixture added to lamp oil, it was thought to cause all present to see themselves upside down with their feet in the air!
Centaury erythraea; picture from pixabay.com
In herbal medicine it was used as a bitter tonic which acted as a gentle laxative and to treat heartburn. Its extreme bitterness was referred to in one common name, Fel Terrae or Gall of the Earth, which was corrupted to Felwort or Filwort. Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century herbalist described it as ‘very wholesome, but not very toothsome’, suggesting is was useful but not pleasant to ingest. As part of the Gentian family, centaury shares a number of common names and uses with the gentians and also contains some of the same chemical compounds.
There are several bitter principles in centaury which are thought to contribute to its action on the digestive system including swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, centapicrin and sweroside. Centapicrin is one of the most intensely bitter compounds known.
Chemical diagram of centapicrin
Centaury was also used for its fever-reducing properties, reflected in one of its common names, feverwort and to treat sciatica, colic, jaundice, dropsy, cramp and many other conditions. The aerial parts are still in use today to treat dyspepsia, temporary loss of appetite and as a digestive and gastric stimulant. It can also act as a powerful antioxidant due to the presence of compounds with multiple phenolic groups.
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