Gentiana lutea Identity & Plant Part
The botanical entity is Gentiana lutea L., the great yellow gentian, a robust perennial of the Gentianaceae from the mountains of central and southern Europe. The part used is the root, a thick, fleshy, yellow-brown rootstock. Leaves, stems and flowers are not part of this ingredient.
Chinese gentians, such as Gentiana macrophylla, are different species with their own roots and uses. Wild-collected gentian root has also been mixed with the roots of white hellebore, Veratrum album, a look-alike from another family, which is why species identification matters. The root carries bitter secoiridoid glycosides, xanthones and sugars such as gentiobiose, named here as families only.












