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CENTAURY

Source: Centaurium erythraeaRafn. (syn.

C.umbellatumGilib.,C.minusMoench

andErythraea centauriumPers.) (Family

Gentianaceae).

Common/vernacular names: Bitter herb,

common centaury, drug centaurium, European

centaury, lesser centaury, minor centaury,

red cantarone.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Annual, mostly biennial herb with upright

stem branching near the top; up to 0.5 m high;

leaves opposite; flowers in corymbiform

cymes, sessile, rose-purple; native to Europe,

western Asia, and northern Africa and natural-

ized in North America in dry grassland, scrub,

and mountain slopes. Variable (stem branch-

ing, leaf shape and size, flower size, etc.),

separated into six subspecies in Europe, more

or less restricted by geographic region (TUTIN

ET AL. 3). Part used is the dried flowering herb;

not to be confused with the genusCentaurea

(Compositae). Major commercial sources are

Morocco and eastern Europe (WICHTL).

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Contains several bitter glucosides (gentiopi-

crin, centapicrin, swertiamarin, gentioflavo-

side, and sweroside), alkaloids, (gentianine,

gentianidine, gentioflavine, etc.), phenolic

acids (protocatechuic,m- andp-hydroxyben-

zoic,vanillic,syringic,p-coumaric,ferulic,3,4-

dihydroxyphenylacetic, sinapic, caffeic acids,

etc.),triterpenes(a-andb-amyrin,erythrodiol,

crataegolic acid, oleanolic acid, oleanolic

Centaury 167