Centaury, Centaurium Erythraea

Centaury

Centaurium erythraea

cool, dry, tonifying

Taste: bitter

Family: Gentianaceae

Medicinal parts: aerial parts– flowers & leaves

Actions: bitter, cooling, draining, alterative, stomachic, cholagogue, diaphoretic,

antiperiodic, anti-parasitic

Affinities: digestive system, particularly the stomach

Notable constituents: flavonoids, acids (caffeic, ferulic), bitter principles (amarogentin,

centapicrin, gentiopicrin, gentiopicroside, gentianine), beta-sitosterol

Medicinal applications

• Digestive system

  • Centaury’s digestive enhancing abilities start peristalsis: a flow of increased movement. Starting with the mouth and moving downwards, bitters increase saliva and enzymes, then increase the flow of stomach acid, centaury improves liver function by enhanced bile production and supports the pancreas to release digestive fluid and finally aids bowel movements. Century has stomachic action, improving the overall health of the digestive system and increasing the amount of nutrition we are able to absorb from food.

  • Century can be supportive for many types of ailments, for helping those with anorexia, for people that are malnourished, those with slow or weak digestion as well as people trying to make a change in their diet. When experiencing indigestion or slow digestion, work with centaury as a stimulant. Bitters are supportive for helping someone have a more balanced diet, they regulate weak or excessive appetite, and help stop sugar cravings, making a person hungry for foods that are supportive and healthy.  

• Anti-parasitic 

  • Strong bitters like centaury can be supportive for those dealing with internal parasites. Centaury has a febrifuge action, helping reduce fever and supporting those with parasitic diseases such as malaria. 

In practice

• Bitters work by tasting them, you can make the taste more appealing by balancing the flavor, but it's important to be able to still taste the bitterness. It is this bitter flavour that starts the process of peristalsis in the body. If you put bitters in a capsule, it will not have the same effect. When formulating for taste, it is often preferred to add spicy, earthly and warming herbs to help balance its flavour, rather than trying to sweeten centaury. Consider adding ginger, clove or rosemary. 

• When working with centaury or bitters in general, take them about 15 minutes before meals, this will get your stomach stimulated and ready to digest food. You can take a few drops of the tincture or create an infusion. 

• Centaury is similar in effects to gentian. Ethically, it is recommended to substitute century for gentian because gentian is at risk, while centaury is abundant. When working with centaury, we create medicine with the aerial parts while gentian is harvested for the root, making it less sustainable. Centaury and gentian have similar compounds, consider choosing centaury over gentian when formulating herbal remedies. 

• When working with centaury, be aware that it is drying. This may be the effect you are looking for, but if you are noticing that it may be too drying for you, try adding cooling demulcent herbs within your diet, such as drinking liden or marshmallow infusions.  

• When working with a naturopathic doctor, I was given a blend of bitter herbs that included gentian, which is similar to century. It also included artichoke, dandelion, chamomile, turmeric, burdock, black walnut and ginger. It was very effective for helping my digestion as well as supporting a healthy diet. Although I never got over the taste and I nicknamed it “the ick”, it was very helpful during a time when I needed digestion support. It also helped with mindfulness around eating, the ritual of working with it before every meal made me more aware of my body and care taking it with intention. I still work with it on occasion when my digestion feels weak or I want to make a change in my diet. A small tincture bottle has lasted over six years, a little bit goes a long way when working with bitters.  

Cautions: If your constitution generally runs more cold and dry, consider adding some demulcent herbs into your diet to balance the drying and cooling effects of centaury. 

Friends: gentian, artichoke, wormwood, calamus, fennel

This is for research purposes and should not be taken as medical advice.

Cited works

“Centaury: Herbs.” Herbal Reality, 23 May 2025, www.herbalreality.com/herb/centaury/. 

Groves, Maria Noël. Body into Balance: An Herbal Guide to Holistic Self-Care. Storey Publishing, 2016.

Hoffmann, David. The Herbal Handbook: A User’s Guide to Medical Herbalism. Healing Arts Press, 1998. 

“Medicinal Plants for Malaria.” Botanical Online, Botanical-online, 7 June 2025, www.botanical-online.com/en/medicinal-plants/malaria-remedies. 

Swift, Katja, and Ryn Midura. “Centaury - Materia Medica.” Accessed 16 June. 2025.

Swift, Katja, and Ryn Midura. “Centaury - Centaurium Erythraea.” Family Herbalist Course. https://online.commonwealthherbs.com/courses/take/materia-medica/lessons/2374583-centaury-centaurium-erythraea Accessed 16 June. 2025.