Witnessed by: Unani
Gul-e-ghafis (Gentiana olivieri), of the Gentianaceae family. Small tufted perennial of dry ground with narrow leaves and clustered deep blue funnel flowers; native range: dry steppe and stony hill grassland of Anatolia, Iran, the Caucasus and central Asia. Globally recognized as gul-e-ghafis in Persian, gul-e-ghafis in Urdu, ghafis in Arabic, and Olivier's gentian in English. The part used is flowering herb. Dried blue-violet flowers and slender herb, nearly scentless, the taste plainly and lastingly bitter.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
GUL-E-GHAFIS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- gul-e-ghafis
- Scientific name
- Gentiana olivieri Griseb.
- Family
- Gentianaceae
Form
- Part used
- flowering herb
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- liver · spleen · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-jigar (liver tonic), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent, opening the obstructions of liver and spleen), daf-e-humma (antipyretic), mudirr-e-baul (diuretic), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic), qatil-e-kirm (anthelmintic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot temperaments, gastric ulcer and an irritable stomach; pregnancy
- Toxicity
- low; the bitterness in large doses nauseates and may bring vomiting and headache
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