Chicory

Description

Chicory is one to four feet high, with toothed, lobed or entire leaves that somewhat clasp the stem. The rays of chicory are blue (occasionally white) and toothed at the tip.  The flower heads are about one to one and a half inches wide and stalkless along the branches (Newcomb 1977).

History

The generic name, Cichorium, is ancient, dating to before the birth of Christ (Le Strange 1977).

The Romans used the roots as a vegetable, raw or cooked (Grieve 1998; Le Strange 1977) and also used the root medicinally for liver problems.  A poultice made of bruised leaves was used to treat swellings and inflamed eyes.  The root was also boiled and taken internally as a tonic and to improve digestion.  (Le Strange 1977)

During the medieval period, chicory was regularly prescribed as a diuretic, laxative and tonic, especially “as a strengthener of weak and feeble stomach.”  Other internal uses were for ague (fever), inflamed eyes, pain in lactating breasts,”passions of the heart”, loss of appetite, gout, dropsy (an obsolete word for edema or swelling), headaches in children, and as a liver tonic.  Externally, it was used for swelling and various skin conditions (Le Strange 1977).

The roots are used as a tonic (Grieve 1998; Le Strange 1977), laxative and diuretic (Foster & Duke 1990; Grieve 1998; Le Strange 1977) and to treat skin eruptions and fevers (Foster & Duke 1990). Root decoctions were once taken to mitigate jaundice, gout, rheumatic complaints (Le Strange 1977), loss of appetite, dyspepsia, and cancer. 

During the reign of Charles II in England, a English confection named “Violet Plates” was made from distilled chicory and violet flowers (Le Strange 1977).

The shoots or young leaves, blanched, can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable (Grieve 1998; Le Strange 1977).  In Europe a species of chicory, C. intybus, is cultivated as a salad, vegetable, for fodder and for its root, which can be blended with coffee (Grieve 1998).

Current Medicinal Uses

Chicory is not widely used medicinally today, but it has survived as a food. The leaves of Cichorium intybus are used as a salad green, and the coffee so popular in New Orleans cafes is a mixture of coffee and chicory root.

Some animal research has been done on chicory inulin, which appears to enhance calcium absorption in rats (Roberfroid 2002).

Adverse Effects

Chicory can cross-react with birch pollen; those allergic to birch pollen should avoid it (Cadot 2003).

References

Cadot P, Kochuyt AM, van Ree R, Ceuppens JL.  Oral allergy syndrome to chicory associated with birch pollen allergy. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2003 May;131(1):19-24.

Foster S, Duke JA. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1990. (p. 198)

Grieve M. A Modern Herbal. Tiger Books International, London, 1998 (first published in 1931 by Jonathan Cape Ltd):197-198.

Le Strange, R. A History of Herbal Plants. Arco Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1977. (pp. 79-80)

Lewis WH , Elvin-Lewis MPF. Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man’s Health. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1977. (p. 386)

Newcomb L. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1977. (p. 382)

Roberfroid MB, Cumps J, Devogelaer JP.  Dietary chicory inulin increases whole-body bone mineral density in growing male rats. J Nutr. 2002 Dec;132(12):3599-602.

Disclaimer 

Information on this website is for educational purposes only. Many herbs historically used for medicine are considered too toxic to use today; some of these herbs have caused deaths. Do not ingest these herbs based on information on this website. We have not provided sufficient information for the safe medicinal use of any of these herbs, nor sufficient information for treatment of poisoning. All recreational use of these herbs is dangerous.