* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
Medicinal Usage
Chicory had been known to the ancients, who used it both as a food and medicinally. The Romans prescribed it for liver ailments. In later centuries herbalists recommended preparations made from the roots as tonics, laxatives, and diuretics, and poultices made from the bruised leaves for swellings and inflammations.
At one time herbalists looked upon Chicory's milky sap as a divine sign that the juice provided a remedy for nursing mothers who had trouble producing milk.
General Herb Information
Because chicory's sky-blue flowers can be counted on to open and close at precisely the same time every day, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus included this beautiful weed in the floral clock he planted at Uppsala.
Today chicory, both wild and cultivated, is used principally as a food. Young chicory leaves can be gathered in spring for a salad; older leaves can be cooked but have a bitter taste. Belgian endive is actually a variety of Cichorium intybus. The roots are dug up, replanted in a dark cellar, and left to grow until small pale leaf heads reach a height of a few inches. The dried, roasted, and ground root is often blended with coffee; it gives the brew a pleasant1y bitter taste while reducing its stimulating effect, since chicory has no caffeine.
Habitat: Fields and waste areas, such as roadsides and vacant city lots.
Range: Introduced from Europe, chicory is naturalized throughout most of the United States and southern Canada. It will grow in almost any soil. It grows more profusely in humid areas.
Identification: A perennial herb, with blue flowerheads (July-November) arranged at the bases of the few small leaves found on the rough, stiff stem. The stem grows from a rosette of leaves on the ground and can reach a height of 6 feet, but most are closer to 3 feet. The plant is inconspicuous until the showy flowers bloom. A long, tough taproot enables chicory to grow wild in areas hostile to other plants.
Uses: Ground chicory roots for blending with coffee are available in specialty food stores. Chicory is also sold as a bitter, tangy seasoning for soups and stews.
Chicory Cichorium intybus L.
Family: Asteraceae.
Other Names: Chicorée sauvage (French); Wegwarte (German); cicoria (Italian).
Description: An erect perennial herb (up to 1 m in height) with a thick root, large dentate leaves and attractive, pale blue, sessile flower heads.
Origin: Europe and Asia. Chicory is cultivated in many parts of the world and has become a weed.
Parts Used: Mainly the root (Cichori radix), sometimes the whole herb (Cichorii folia et radix).
Uses and Properties: The dried, whole herb is used mainly as a digestive tonic for loss of appetite and dyspepsia. It is a traditional choleretic, cholagogue, carminative, diuretic and "blood purifier" in both European and Ayurvedic medicine. Chicory syrup is a traditional tonic for infants, and a cleansing medicine for those suffering from rheumatism and gout.
Active Ingredients: The bitterness of chicory is due to the presence of sesquiterpene lactones, of which lactucin and lactuprikrin are the major compounds. Also present are coumarins (umbelliferon, cichoriin), phenolic acids (caffeic, ferulic acids and esters with quinic acid) and various flavonoids. The root contains high levels of inulin (50 - 60 %) as a storage compound.
Pharmacological Effects: Extracts show choleretic and anti-inflammatory effects in rats. The therapeutic value of chicory is not clear, but it is generally accepted to have mild choleretic effects in man, so that the traditional treatment of liver and gall bladder complaints seems justified. Bitter lactones are likely to contribute to the tonic effects; however, the medicinal role (if any) of inulin and the potential benefits of the herb in treating rheumatism and gout are less obvious. Inulin is used as sucrose substitute for diabetics. Allergic skin reactions may rarely occur in sensitive people.
Notes: Chicory and its close relative, endive (C. endivia), are grown as bitter leaf vegetables. Chicory root is commercially dried and roasted as a coffee ad- ditive or coffee substitute.
Status: Traditional medicine; Pharm.; Comm. E+.
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Directions
Stir 1/4 of a teaspoon into a glass of water and consume 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
Not recommended if you are pregnant or lactating.
Additional Information
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
