* Please Note: Traditional Use information is provided as a courtesy only. Although we have done our best to review the validity of these uses and we continue to revise this information as new data emerges, the traditional uses indicated on this page for this product may be wrong. This information is based on Traditional and Folklore Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA and is not necessarily based on scientific evidence from any source. 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.
Other Names: Petite centaurée (French); Echtes Tausendgüldenkraut (German); centaurea minore (Italian); centaura manor (Spanish).
Description: Centaurium represents a complex of at least 12 subspecies. It is a sparse, erect biennial of about 0.5 m high. A basal rosette of oblong leaves is tbrrned in the first year and a slender, much-branched flowering stalk bearing small pink flowers emerges in the second year.
Origin: Europe and the Mediterranean; products mainly from eastern Europe and North Africa.
Parts Used: Dried aerial parts, collected while the plant is in flower (Centaurii herba).
Therapeutic Category: Bitter tonic (dyspepsia).
Uses and Properties: A bitter tonic to treat digestive disturbances, chronic dyspepsia, and lack of appetite. Traditionally thought to be helpful to treat fever and gastrointestinal, liver, bile, bladder and urological complaints. Externally used for wound treatment.
Active Ingredients: The plant contains bitter iridoid glycosides, so-called secoiridoids - mainly swertiamarin but also gentiopicrin, deacetylcentapicrin and sweroside. Small amounts of dimeric secoiridoids, such as centauroside, occur with flavonoids, xanthone derivatives (such as methylbellidifolin), other phenolics (phenylpropanoids), triterpenes, sterols and trace amounts of secoiridoid alkaloids.
Pharmacological Effects: The bitter iridoids are known to act as appetite stimulants by reflectorily increasing the flow of saliva and gastric juices. Some anti-inflammatory and antipyretic (fever reducing) activity has been shown in animal studies.
Notes: Small quantities of centaury are added as a bitter food flavouring to foodstuffs and to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Centaurium species all have bitter iridoid glycosides; several of them are used medicinally, e.g. the Chilean C. chilense is an ingredient of homoeopathic medicine.
Status: Traditional medicine; Pharm.; Comm. E+; ESCOP 6.
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Directions
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 tea bag for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the pot, cover and let steep for 2-4 minutes. Pour into your cup; add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea itself. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into the serving pitcher straining the tea bags. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
General Preparation and Dosage: The crude herb, tincrures or extracts are included in remedies and supplements. In Europe, a bitter tonic tea is prepared by steeping one heaped teaspoon of the dried herb in a cup of cold water for several hours and then heating it to drinking temperature. The recommended daily dose is 6 g of the crude herb or 1 - 2 g of extract.
Cautions
Do not use centaury when suffering from ulcers of the stomach or duodenum.
Additional Information
TerraVita is an exclusive line of premium-quality, natural source products that use only the finest, purest and most potent ingredients found around the world. TerraVita is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. All of our products are prepared with the highest elements of quality control, from raw materials through the entire manufacturing process, up to and including the moment that the bottles or bags are sealed for freshness and shipped out to you. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
TerraVita exists to meet and ensure your family's health and wellness without the harmful effects or chemicals and prescription medications. We strive to make all of our products affordable and reliable and are constantly searching the market to maintain our affordability and to look for new ways to serve you and the ones you love. TerraVita has become a trusted household name for many families and can bring you and yours the very best herbal supplements, blends, teas and spices that are on the market today.
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ZooScape is proud to be the exclusive distributor of TerraVita teas, herbs and supplements in the United States, Canada and around the world. Please direct all wholesale and bulk inquiries to Simona Heather at 905-494-1785.
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."
