GENTIANA LUTEA. 
223 
tas te ; not so nauseous as the aloe, nor so aromatic as the chamo- 
miHe. The bitter principle is extracted by- aqueous, vinous, and 
spirituous menstrua ; but in a less degree by the former than the 
latter. Neumann however got from 960 grains, :)90 alcoholic, and 
afterwards 210 insipid watery extract; and inversely, 540 watery, 
and only 20 alcoholic. Lewis notwithstanding says that the extract 
prepared from the watery infusion, is less bitter than that made from 
the spirituous tincture.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gentian possessing as it 
does the general virtues of bitters in an eminent degree, without the 
astringency which characterises some of them, has long been in 
general use as a tonic and stomachic ; besides these properties it 
acts upon dead animal matter as an antiseptic, and "hence has been 
administered in putrid fever, and other diseases where antiseptic 
medicines are indicated ; it is likewise considered anthelmintic, em- 
menagogue, and febrifuge. We are told by Dr. CuUen, that gentian 
joined with an equal quantity of galls or tormentilla, constantly suc- 
ceeded in curing intermittents, if given in sufficient quantity. This 
effect we would be inclined to attribute to its tonic properties, and 
in dyspeptic complaints, and others arising from debility of the 
stomach, we can safely recommend the use of gentian, though, as 
we shall elsewhere have occasion to notice, many practitioners now 
prefer the different preparations of chamomile, where the organs of 
digestion are concerned. As a simple bitter, gentian is rendered 
more grateful by the addition of an aromatic to the infusion, which 
is the most general, and perhaps the best form in which it is admi- 
nistered ; for this purpose the Cort. Aurantii is commonly employed. 
There are fifty-three species of gentian, and the roots of some of the 
other species are said to be equally bitter, and are indeed preferred by 
some to the Gentiana Lutea,viz. the Gentiana Purpurea, Asclepiadea, 
Campestris; Amerilla, &c. Some years ago, a poisonous root was 
discovered among the gentian brought to London, the use of which 
occasioned violent disorders, and in some instances deatli. This 
root may be distinguished from the gentian, by its being internally of 
a white colour, and devoid of bitterness. 
Gentianine. Messrs. Henry and Caventon have lately dis- 
covered a peculiar principle in the roots of gentian, to which they 
have given the name of Gentianine. This substance is yellow, in- 
odorous, possessing very strongly the aromatic bitter taste of the 
* Lewis's Materia Medica, p. 320. 
