A perennial herbaceous plant with a spherical tuberous rhizome, an unbranched stem, and few trifoliate leaves. The inflorescence is a raceme. Flowers are yellow, with petal-like sepals, 6 petals shorter than the sepals, and 6 stamens. The fruit is an inflated, membranous, sac-like capsule.
In the Caucasus, two species grow: Leontice smirnowii Trautv. (Smirnov’s Otabnik) and L. minor Boiss. (Small Otabnik). The tubers of both species are referred to in Georgian folk medicine as «round medicine» and are used to stimulate appetite, treat anemia, tuberculosis, and during recovery periods after illnesses.
The tubers of Smirnov’s Otabnik contain about 3.5% of total alkaloids, the main one being the liquid alkaloid leontamine. A dry extract is suggested for treating gastritis with low acidity. It is produced in 0.5 g tablets, taken twice daily, half an hour before meals, or as a liquid extract, 40 drops half an hour before meals.
The tubers of Leontice ewersmannii Bge. from Central Asia also contain alkaloids, including leontamine.
