Centaurium

Centaurium (folk name "goldenwort" and others), Erythraea centaurium Pers., family Gentianaceae (gentians), widespread in central and southern Europe, in northern Africa and America, an annual (or depending on the place of growth biennial) herbaceous plant, cultivated in some areas of the USSR (former Tula, Kursk provinces, etc.). The root is short and thin, the stem is straight, four-sided, 20-35 cm in height,

the basal leaves are slightly fleshy, smooth, collected in a rosette, stem leaves are sessile, arranged in a dense umbel, pink. Blooms from mid-June to September. Centaurium is collected in full bloom at the beginning of flowering, but only the flowering tops are used, which under the name Herba Centaurii majoris are sold. Centaurium has no odor, its taste is purely bitter and is caused by the presence in it of a number of bitter substances: the levorotatory glycoside erythaurin, a resin-like substance erythamarin, etc. (Besides them, there is up to 6.3% of tasteless glycoside erythrocentaurin.) In folk medicine Centaurium is used for the most diverse diseases: malaria, scrofula, tuberculosis, etc.; in medical practice it has long been prescribed as a bitter to increase appetite and improve digestion and absorption (in dyspepsia, etc.). It belongs to the group of pure bitters (amara pura), containing neither essential oils nor mucilaginous substances. Centaurium is used to prepare Tinctura amara, occasionally it is used in powders and collections, as well as in the form of infusions and decoctions.