Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Hercampuri (Gentianella alborosea) is a small, intensely bitter Andean plant taken as a tea or capsule. In Peru it is best known as a "liver" and slimming herb, and people also take it hoping to lower cholesterol and help digestion.
This page covers the single herb on its own, not a blend or a formula. It is sold dried, powdered, in capsules and in liquid extracts.
Here is the plain verdict: hercampuri has a long, respected place in Peruvian folk medicine, but almost no human trial evidence. Traditional use tells you people have trusted it for generations; it does not prove the herb works, and that distinction matters throughout this page.
The honest answer is that nobody has shown how hercampuri works in people.
The leading idea is simple. The herb is extremely bitter, and bitter plants tend to trigger saliva, stomach juices and bile, which may be why it has a reputation for helping heavy meals go down.
Laboratory and animal studies have looked at effects on blood fats and on liver tissue. Those findings are early, they were not done in people, and they should not be read as proof that the herb lowers your cholesterol or protects your liver.
Loose dried herb is the traditional form. You steep a small pinch in hot water and drink it as a very bitter tea.
Capsules and tablets of the powdered herb are the most common commercial form, usually 400-500 mg each. Liquid extracts and tinctures are also sold, and some are strong, so the label dose matters more than the bottle size.
Hercampuri also turns up inside "detox" and weight-loss blends. Those blends can contain stimulants or laxatives, so read the full ingredient list before you buy.
Hercampuri grows high in the Peruvian Andes and has been used there for generations as a bitter tonic for the liver, digestion and body weight. It reached city herb markets and then the export trade in the twentieth century, where it was rebranded as a slimming tea. It is a genuine regional staple rather than a herb shared across many traditions.
Stop taking it and see a doctor if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow, if your urine goes dark, or if you get pain on the upper right side of your belly. These can be signs of a liver problem.
Get urgent help if you feel shaky, sweaty and confused, which can mean your blood sugar has dropped too low, or if you faint.
Go to an emergency department for swelling of the lips, face or tongue, a spreading rash, or trouble breathing. Also see a doctor before starting if you are on medicines for diabetes, blood pressure, the liver or blood thinning.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
The published evidence for Hercampuri is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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