Centaur: The herb that helps digestion

Centaurium (Centaurium erythraea) is a medicinal plant that grows almost all over Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia.

The plant has been known since antiquity. Dioscorides called it centaur because in mythology Centaur Chiron healed wounds with it. It has a bitter taste and is recommended as a decoction for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, indigestion, heartburn and anorexia – bitter herbs are considered to stimulate the appetite. Like other bitter plants, it is used to treat fever, which is why it is also called a herb.

Centaurium also has anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory action. It is included in cosmetic products because it has anti-allergic, soothing and astringent properties. The aerial parts of the plant have antimicrobial properties without toxicity to experimental animals.

The characteristic bitter-tasting ingredients in the herb are the securoid glycosides (2-8%), mainly swertiamarin and to a lesser extent gentiopicroside [gentiopicrin] [1]. Other ingredients are polyphenols, xanthones and phytosterols. There are also small amounts of essential oil (up to 0.02%).

What are its properties?

1. Improves digestion

Centaurus is thought to improve the digestive process by increasing intestinal passage, which can be achieved by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) – it breaks down acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid. This mechanism has been shown to accelerate gastrointestinal motility in postoperative patients and in animals [2]. The blondes contained in the plant are good inhibitors of AChE.

Xanthones also have antioxidant activity. The gastroprotective effect observed with the ingestion of the decoction could be partly explained by the antioxidant activity of the plant [2].

2. Lowers cholesterol

Animal studies have shown that it lowers total blood cholesterol [3]. This property is thought to be due to the secretion of glycosides, more research is needed in this area.

3. Antidiabetic

The plant is also used against diabetes. A study showed that oral treatment (with an extract of 2 g per kg body weight for 18 weeks) in mice with diabetes, caused by a standardized diet high in fat, reduced blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, insulin, insulin resistance and calorie intake. The same researchers showed in a subsequent study, this time in a laboratory, that the plant’s antioxidant potential slows down the processes of damage and dysfunction of insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells [3].

4. Fights fever

Antipyretic activity of the herb was observed in rats after administration of 50-100 mg per animal. Antipyretic properties are thought to be due to phenolic acids.

Dosage and possible side effects

The dosage is adjusted according to a person’s sensitivity to bitterness. If the plant is taken as a powder for indigestion and to improve digestion, the dosage is from 0.25 to 2 grams up to three times a day. As an extract, take from 2 to 4 ml up to three times a day. As a tea, 1-4 g can be taken. of the plant substance in 200 ml of boiling water, up to 4 times a day [1].

There is no data on how safe cornflower can be when used in large doses. In a single oral administration study in mice, no signs of toxicity of the extract were observed up to the highest dose tested, 15 g. per kilogram of body weight [1]. Also no toxicity was observed with administration of 1.2 g. per kilogram of body weight for 90 days.

There are no clinical trials in humans on whether it can affect the action of drugs. Overdose is thought to cause vomiting.

References

1. Assessment report on Centaurium erythraea Rafn. s.l., herba.
2. Bioactivities of Centaurium erythraea (Gentianaceae) Decoctions: Antioxidant Activity, Enzyme Inhibition and Docking Studies.
3. Centaurium erythraea extract reduces redox imbalance and improves insulin expression and secretion in pancreatic β-cells exposed to oxidative and nitrosative stres.
4. Phytochemical profile and in vitro antioxidant activity of Centaurium erythraea Rafn.