BTW ... more than you ever wanted to know ...
Chicory is often helpful for jaundice and for spleen problems.
The juice of the leaves and a tea made from the flowering plant promote the production of bile, the release of gallstones, and the elimination of excessive internal mucus.
They are also useful for gastritis, lack of appetite, and digestive difficulties.
A decoction of the rootstock is said to be helpful to the glandular organs or the digestive system.
For painful inflammations, try applying the boiled leaves and flowers wrapped in a cloth.
Also a spring tonic.
One ounce root in 1 pint of water used as a diuretic, laxative, folk use for jaundice, skin eruptions, slightly sedative, and mildly laxative.
Homeopathically used for liver and gall bladder ailments. Leaf extracts weaker than root extracts. In experiments, animals given chicory root extracts exhibit a slower and weaker heart rate (pulse).
It has been suggested that the plant should be researched for use in heart irregularities. Root extracts in alcohol solutions have proven anti-inflammatory effects in experiments.