Which medicinal plants were important 100 years ago? Where were they wanted? And how were they grown, harvested and dried? The yellow gentian is a perennial plant from the Alps, which was not only sought as a medicine for the stomach but was also widely used as a raw material for liqueurs. Even today it is still a popular plant. Although the stock plants of the Gentian root had and still have a wide distribution in the mountain areas of Europe, and were therefore sought and collected in various countries, it is only a few specific areas that supplied the market with this drying Gentiana radix. These were mainly Spain, Switzerland, the Balkans and France.
In Spain, Gentiana lutea occurs in the North in the Pyrenees and in central Spain. In Switzerland, the root was collected in the cantons of Waadtland, Uri, Schwyz and Graubünden. In the Balkans, it was the western areas of Bosnia and Montenegro where the Yellow Gentian, but also G. pannonica and G. punctata, were harvested on a larger scale. In France, the search took place in the Vosges, but there the harvest mainly served local needs. On a larger scale, the collection took place on the plateaus of the Auvergne and the Cévennes, where the most important sites were and still are mainly on gneiss and granite soils.
Harvesting and drying
In general, the root was not dug out before the tenth year; it was better to wait longer in order to harvest an arm’s length of raw material. The root was dug up in late autumn after the leaves had withered. The problem was that all the plants were covered in snow at that time. So collection was usually earlier or even waited until spring. After the roots had been dug up, the entire harvest was left to lie in the rain and sun for a while, so that they were washed superficially clean. They were then washed, the lateral roots cut off, divided into pieces of a few centimeters, strung on a rope and then hung up to dry. To promote this drying, the roots were also cut across their entire length. In the Swiss Jura, a lot of Gentian was excavated during the months of August to October, which was mainly used for the preparation of a liqueur.
In the trade I wanted beautiful, dark carrots with a strong smell, so the fresh carrots were left to ferment in piles for a while, which gave the carrots a powerful aroma in addition to a dark brown color. It is remarkable that important components were broken down by and during this process and were therefore lost; This was, for example, the case with the bitter substances gentiopicrin and gentianose. It is therefore better to dry the roots quickly and then leave them for a longer period of time, up to 1 year, so that the desired color and scent are also created, but not at the expense of the components. The German pharmacy books explicitly prescribed the quickly dried roots.
Description of the dried material: Gentianae radix
The roots and stem bases of Gentiana lutea, but also the roots of G. Pannonica, G. punctata and G. purpurea were used. The dried pieces are 20 cm long, thick at the top up to 4 cm. Brittle in a dry state, soon tough and flexible in humid air…. Smell characteristic, somewhat sweetish like that of dried figs, although in the Belgian Pharmacopoeia the odor was previously described as disgusting. So quite a few differences, but I think both are a bit exaggerated.
The taste is first slightly sweet and then intense but not unpleasantly bitter.
Mistakes and forgeries
Mistakes occurred with the roots of various Rumex and Veratrum species, which grow in the same places as the Gentian. The gentian powder in particular is said to have been regularly adulterated, again with sorrel species, but apparently also with coconut shells and conifer needles. And even worse were the adulterations containing belladonna and veratrum roots, both of which are highly poisonous.
Gentian now
Gentian root is still sought after as a liqueur and as a medicinal stomach remedy. The plants are protected practically everywhere, but may be harvested in a controlled manner. In addition, a lot of Yellow Gentian is now grown as an agricultural crop, especially for the liqueur industry.