Amarogentin is a chemical compound found in gentian (Gentiana lutea) or in Swertia chirata.

[1] Gentian root has a long history of use as a herbal bitter in the treatment of digestive disorders and is an ingredient of many proprietary medicines.

The bitter principles of gentian root are secoiridoid glycosides amarogentin and gentiopicrin.

[3] The biphenylcarboxylic acid moiety is biosynthesized by a polyketide-type pathway, with three units of acetyl-CoA and one unit of 3-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA, this being formed from an early shikimate pathway intermediate and not via cinnamic or benzoic acid.

[4] It also shows an antileishmanial activity in animal models[5] being an inhibitor of topoisomerase I.