Lesser centaury: use, properties, and tradition

Known as the feverfew plant for its fever-reducing properties, it is also called the “fever chaser,” and in some traditions, due to its extremely bitter taste, it is referred to as “bile of the earth“.

The name is derived from the Greek word ‘eritros,’ meaning red, for the color of its flowers, and ‘centaurium‘ from the centaur Chiron, a renowned herbalist who is said to have first used it to heal a foot wound.

Centaurea erythraea Rafn. (also known as Erythraea centaurium Pers.), belonging to the Gentian family, is an annual or biennial herb, 10-30 cm tall, common on the edges of forests throughout Europe and Northern Africa, but always in very limited quantities.

The branches are thin and tetragonal. The leaves, grouped in basal rosettes, are sessile and oval, with smaller cauline leaves.

The small flowers are a pale pink color arranged in cymose inflorescences. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule with two valves.

Part used: the flowering tops.

Main constituents: small amounts of bitter secoiridoid glycosides (centapicrin, gentiopicrin, svertiamarine, sweroside, gentiopicroside); flavonoids; triterpenes; sterols; traces of pyridine and actidine alkaloids. The composition of the secoiridoid fraction varies in different parts of the plant: those derived from centapicrin, although in small quantities, dominate in the flowers, so the percentage of flowers in the drug significantly determines its bitterness. The antipyretic action could be explained by the presence of organic acids and phenolic derivatives.

Lesser Centaury is part of the bitters, a group of plants containing substances that increase gastric juice production, stimulating digestive functions, encouraging appetite, and improving the digestion of ingested substances through a reflex nervous mechanism. Like all bitters, Centaurea should be administered approximately half an hour before meals, on an empty stomach, and sipped slowly to allow the reflex action to develop through the stimulation of taste receptors.

Bitters also have a mild purgative action. The bitter principles in the plant, such as gentiopicrin, also have remarkable antifebrile properties.

Lesser Centaury is also used by the vermouth and bitters industry.

Folk medicine has always used the flowering tops of this plant as a febrifuge and bitter tonic remedy. “It is also febrifuge and used in intermittent fevers in infusion, extract or in preserves, usually the fever successfully disappears in one or two days. Arthritis and sciatica also benefit from it, as well as gout”. (Antonelli G.).

Proserpio notes that dermocosmetics use infusions for capillary frictions with anti-lice action.

Dioscorides is mentioned by Baglivi in his work Praxis Medica (1738), where he states, “it is very valuable in jaundice, causing the bile to be eliminated through the intestine“.

The decoction is used to give brown hair blonde highlights, hence the name “blondelle.”

This herb was part of the composition of Theriac.

In Italian folk tradition, it is also noted for treating hemorrhoids and menstrual disorders.

Precautions: incorrect use of the plant can cause irritation of the digestive tract, with vomiting and diarrhea.

Some formulations and practical uses:

Slow and laborious digestion

Centaurea tops 15 grams, Marjoram flowers 35 grams, Thyme plant 50 grams

Infusion: Dose 10 grams in 300 grams of water. Steep for 20 minutes. 1 small cup before meals (Modern Herbal Medicine by L. Palma)

Dyspepsia with headache

Lemon Balm leaves 65 grams, Centaurea tops 20 grams, Mint leaves 15 grams

Infusion: Dose 5 grams in 100 grams of water. Steep for 20 minutes. 2 tablespoons before meals (Modern Herbal Medicine by L. Palma)

Acute Gastritis

Elecampane rhizome 40 grams, Sage leaves 20 grams, Centaurea tops 20 grams, Viola tricolor flowers 20 grams

Infusion: Dose 15 grams in 325 grams of water. Steep for 20 minutes. 1 small cup before meals (Modern Herbal Medicine by L. Palma)

Compound Wormwood Infusion; stomachic and digestive (F.N. National Formulary)

Composition: 100 grams of the mixture contain Wormwood herb 30 grams, Gentian root 20 grams, Bitter Orange bark 20 grams, Centaurea herb 20 grams, Cinnamon bark 10 grams

Prepare the infusion at the time of use by steeping. One tablespoon (approximately 5 grams) per cup (approximately 250 grams), 1-3 times a day.

In Dr. Edward Bach’s theory, Lesser Centaury (Centaury in English) is “the flower of willingness“, part of the group of flowers “for those excessively sensitive to external influences and ideas“.

In the original text The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies, Dr. Bach identifies the usefulness of this flower for:

“Kind, quiet, good people extremely anxious to serve others. They abuse their strength in this endeavor. Their desire to help others grows to the point where they become more servants than helpers. Their natural kindness leads them to do more than necessary, sometimes neglecting their own particular life mission”.

Dr. Bach identified the characteristics related to this flower by observing its behavior in nature: Centaury almost allows itself to be “suffocated” by other plants, as if afraid to claim space for itself; its flowers only open in the most favorable conditions (like sunlight) and close if there is too much wind or if temperatures are too high or too low.

This insight led him, by analogy, to define it as the flower for the most yielding, compliant individuals with low self-esteem, allowing others to take advantage of their willingness and ending up dedicating their lives or part of it to others.

GIULIA CALDARELLI