Chiretta

Swertia chirayita

Chirayata Chiretta Indian Balmony Indian Gentian Swertia Uses Considerations

Chiretta is a native herb of the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India and Nepal. An annual growing to a height of three feet (one meter), chiretta bears a single stalk covered with pale green, purple-tinged flowers and paired leaves. The aboveground parts of the plant are harvested in summer when the plant is in flower.

USES

Chiretta is a bitter herb that stimulates digestion, especially of fats, and helps to normalize blood sugars. It is useful in the treatment of leishmaniasis, a tropical parasitic disease.

Benefits of chiretta for specific health conditions include the following:

• Diabetes. Diabetic laboratory animals with high baseline blood-sugar levels show reduced blood-sugar levels after treatment with chiretta. However, animals do not show this reduction in sugar levels after treatment if they have low levels to start with. This suggests that chiretta may be useful in controlling blood-sugar levels without the risk of hypoglycemia from overdose. Other animal studies have found that chiretta is more effective at controlling blood sugars than the common antidiabetic medication tolbutamide (Orinase).
• Nausea. The bitter taste of chiretta triggers a reflex reaction that stimulates the production of saliva and gastric juices. This action stops nausea as well as bloating, hiccups, and indigestion. Chiretta also promotes the production of bile, which stimulates both digestion and appetite.

CONSIDERATIONS

Intensely bitter chiretta is best used as a tincture, although it is also available as a tea. Chiretta is also included in the imported Chinese patent medicine Tian Xian. Chiretta should not be used by people who have gastric or duodenal ulcers because it stimulates gastric juice secretion.