What is gentian violet?

Question

I know it is an herb...but I am not sure what it is used for or any side effects.

Answer 1

It's used to treat thrush and has been recently linked to mouth ulcers.

Answer 2

Gentian violet is a synthetic dye (known as coal tar dyes) that is used to stain bacteria using the Gram stain procedure.  Gentian violet or crystal violet are used in the procedure.  It is also used as a topical treatment for a yeast infection of the mouth called thrush.  When I was a kid, a classmate came to school with a purple mouth!  He could spit purple spit!  Oh we were so envious!  When I told my mother about it, she told me why the boy had purple spit!  Then we weren't so eager to have purple spit!

The name "gentian violet" comes from the color of the dye, not because it is derived from the flower of the same name.

Dyes of this type are used in fish culture to treat infections of the fish.  Some studies have associated the use of this dye which is absorbed into the fish's tissue with cancer development.

Check this link for more information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentian_vio...