Roasted Chicory Root and the Digestive Tract

July 24, 2019 / Ashley Romanchuk

Botanical Monograph of Cichorium intybus:

Genus: Asteracea Family: Compositae

Other names: Wild Endive, Succory

Sanskrit: Kasani, Kasni Arabic: Hinduba Syria: Ambuibaia

Part used: radix (root) -must be roasted or else has strong sedative and strong laxative qualities

leaves -can be eaten in a salad

seeds- used as a brain tonic

**for the purpose of this article, we are discussing the medicine of the roasted root of Chicory

History: Use of this medicine dates back in its use with the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It was known also across the Middle-East and parts of China as a panacea that fixed affections. Chicory is native to Punjab and Andhra Pradesh and does well in temperate regions, especially in the mountains. Ancient Egyptians used this medicine to treat everything, ranging from pulmonary disease including cough, tuberculosis and cancer along with heart disease and osteoarthritis. They used this particularly for glucose control and management and/or the potential reversal of diabetes. Galen, the famous Physician of the second century referred to this medicine as a ‘friend of the liver’. Traditional Ayurvedia uses this as a cooling medicine for biliary complaints.

The German Legend of this plant is that this was originally a beautiful princess that was deserted by her husband and at her own request, she asked to be turned into this beautiful healing plant.

Constituents: Glycosides and Polysaccharides: comprised of up to 20% Inulin

Sesquiterpene lactones: lactucin, lactucopicrin

Polyphenols: Aesculetin, aesculin, cicoriin, umbelliferone,

scopoletin, 6,7-dihydrocoumarin

Tannins

Vitamins and Minerals:

per 100 g root [1]:

1143 mg Calcium 24.6 mg Iron

30o mg Magnesium

470 mg Phosphorus

33 mg Zinc 23 mg Vitamin A

30 mg Vitamin K

2.26 mg Vitamin E 159 mg Vitamin C 1.01 mg Thiamine (Vit. B1) 1.74 mg Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 5.8 mg Niacin (Vit. B3)

1.16 mg Panthothenic (Vit.B5)

0.11 mg Pyrodixine (Vit. B6)

1.07 mg Folic acid (Vit.B9)

Actions: Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Nutritive, Depurative, Hepatoprotective, Hypoglaecemic, Hypolipidemic, Antidiabetic, Anticancer, Sedative, Analgesic, Mild Laxative, Mild diuretic, Cholagogue, Choloretic, Cardiotonic, Antimicrobial, Antihelmintic Antimalarial, Digestive tonic and Gastroprotective, Immunity support, Anti-Gout

Improved Digestion: Bitter effect stimulates the Vagal Nerve which immediately turns on the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS) and therefore switches the body into ‘rest and digest’ mode. This creates the slightly sedative effect that Chicory has and therefore can also be used in the anxiety-depression spectrum, especially if there is digestive problems as well. By switching the body to PSNS, peristalsis and digestive hormones and enzymes start to be excreted and the body begins to prepare for food. It is critical when you ingest ANY bitter, be it chicory root tea, or coffee, you should eat food within 30 minutes as bitter does this to the body, it prepares it for food so your stomach acid starts to excrete a little bit, along with other digestive juices and if you do not consume food, you are highly at risk of developing an ulcer!

At the same time, Chicory root increases liver function while stimulating the liver and gallbladder to increase bile flow to help you digest fats. The inulin in Chicory root is also known as a ‘prebiotic’ which helps keep a healthy gut micro biome by legitimately providing food to your digestive flora, especially the digestive flora of the colon so it really helps keep the large intestine in good health. In supporting the digestive function, Chicory root creates a decrease in transit time by means of its mild laxative effect and in doing this, due to its fiber content, it also helps to ‘bulk’ up the stool so that you pass a bowel movement easier and quicker and this is great for the digestive system. Chicory root is an incredible source of dietary fiber.

Chicory root has also been found to be Hepatoprotective which means it literally protects the liver by protecting the liver cells (the hepatocytes) and reducing the levels of the hepatic enzymes: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) which are indicative of liver disease when high.

The dietary fiber present in Chicory root then also works to balance your blood sugar levels and because it has been working on the liver, it has been also found to bring down your triglycerides which are highly indicative of cardiovascular disease. The starch and fiber that is present in this medicine also balances acidity in the body and thus this plant is very useful in support to control diabetes (which is typically both a high blood glucose situation and a low pH/acidic environment). Laboratory efforts have shown in vivo and in vitro effects of increased regulation of blood glucose levels along with a decrease in LDL (the ‘bad’) cholesterol while HDL (the ‘good’) cholesterol raised and both total cholesterol and triglycerides lowered [1].

The polyphenols give Chicory root huge antioxidant potential and therefore is a strong free radical scavenger, binding and excreting the unbound radicals which create the aging process through oxidation (very similar to how oil goes bad if exposed to oxygen for too long).

Beyond this, the anti-microbial, anti-helminth and anti-fungal effects of this medicine can be used for candida overgrowth or parasites, along with issues with molds and other microbes.

The anti-gout effects this plant has is due to its diuretic action and it has be shown to help rid the system of excess uric acid without depleting potassium and other minerals. This plant is therefore helpful also in cases of rheumatism.

The plant phenols in this medicine create a strong anti-inflammatory effect as well, which is useful in any form of pain.

Research shows that the medicinal use of Chicory decreases bowel acidity and therefore decreases the risk of colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases (Chrons and UC) along with decreasing blood sugars, blood pressure and hearth rate. Due to its prebiotic effect (which is further discussed below) Chicory root is found to help increase calcium absorption and the absorption of other vitamins and minerals. Immunity is also increased due to its prebiotic support of a healthy gut biome and also by its ability to decrease infections related to bacteria, parasites or fungi.

The most interesting aspect of roasted Chicory root is its amount of inulin (17-20% of root) which is very rare to have so much of it. In fact, it makes this root the highest form of Prebiotics of any food:

TOP TEN PREBIOTIC FOODS: PREBIOTIC FIBER BY WEIGHT:

Chicory root 64.6%

Jerusalem artichoke 31.5%

Dandelion root 24.3%

Garlic 17.5%

Leek 11.7%

Onion 8.6%

Asparagus 5%

Wheat bran 5%

Whole Wheat flour 4.8%

Banana 1%

A Prebiotic is defined by meeting the following criteria:

1. nondigestable and resistant to breakdown by stomach acid and digestive enzymes in the human gastrointestinal tract

2. selectively fermented by intestinal micoorganisms

3. selectively targets and simulates the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria (gut microflora)

Prebiotics are typically founds in plant-based oligosaccharides such as fructans, including fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin, galactins and galactooligosaccharides (GOS), pectins, beta-glucans, xylooligosaccharides and other resistant startch.

Prebiotics basically travel down the gastrointestinal tract not metabolized until they typically reach the end of the small intestine or the colon (aka the large intestine) and there they become food for the microflora by selectively inducing the growth and activity of the beneficial bacterial flora of the gut. Prebiotics therefore support a healthy digestive function by feeding primarily Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus (amongst other strains of the gut micro biome’s flora aka ‘good gut bacteria’) which allows for increased immunity, increased detoxification, increased digestion and increased vitamin and mineral absorption.

Therapeutic Indications: Any digestive disorder including slowed digestion, poor fat digestion, Dyspepsia, Loss of Appetite, Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Gallbladder disease, Jaundice, Gout, Gallstones, Increased Heart Rate or High Blood Pressure, Liver Disease, Rheumatism, Nutritive: Vitamins and Minerals, Candida, Infections, Intestinal parasites, Malaria

Caution: Too much inulin can leave you with severe stomach cramps and very painful gas, bloating, flatulance, diarrhea, nausea, vomit and even constipation. This article is intended for information and not for treatment. If you wish for treatment, please book an appointment with me.

No serious therapeutic adverse affects have been documented.

Contraindications: Asteracea allergies (rash), Pregnancy, Lactation

References:

Muhammad Saeed, Mohamed E. Abd El-Hack, Mahmoud Alagawany, Muhammad A. Arain, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad A. Mirza, Muhammad Naveed, Sun Chao, Muhammad Sarwar, Maryam Sayab and Kuldeep Dhama, 2017. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) Herb: Chemical Composition, Pharmacology, Nutritional and Healthical Applications. International Journal of Pharmacology, 13: 351-360.
Ahmad, M., R. Qureshi, M. Arshad, M.A. Khan and M. Zafar, 2009. Traditional herbal remedies used for the treatment of diabetes from district Attock (Pakistan). Pak. J. Bot., 41: 2777-2782.
Al-Snafi, A.E., 2016. Medical importance of Cichorium intybus-a review. IOSR J. Pharm., 6: 41-56.
Bischoff, T.A., C.J. Kelley, Y. Karchesy, M. Laurantos, P. Nguyen-Dinh and A.G. Arefi, 2004. Antimalarial activity of lactucin and lactucopicrin: Sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Cichorium intybus L. J. Ethnopharmacol., 95: 455-457.
Das, S., N. Vasudeva and S. Sharma, 2016. Cichorium intybus: A concise report on its ethnomedicinal, botanical and phytopharmacological aspects. Drug Dev. Therapeut., 7: 1-12.
El-Sayed, Y.S., M.A. Lebda, M. Hassinin and S.A. Neoman, 2015. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) root extract regulates the oxidative status and antioxidant gene transcripts in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity. PLoS ONE, Vol. 10. 10.1371/journal.pone.0121549

July 24, 2019

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