Discomfort and cramping
Banyan Botanicals Easy Digest Liquid Extract
A 1:2 alcohol extract of coriander, fennel, anise, licorice, cardamom, peppermint, celery seed, gentian and ginger, taken in 30-drop servings before or after meals.
- Format
- Liquid
- Type
- Herbal and traditional herbal
- Tradition
- Ayurvedic formula
- Cost
- $1.13 per day at the site’s two servings ($16.99 for 30 servings of 30 drops, $0.57 a serving); the bottle says one to three times daily, $0.57 to $1.70
- Customer rating
- 4.94 out of 5 from 34 ratings from banyanbotanicals.com
The few accounts on record
- A pleasant, warming bitters taste
- A small dropper bottle that is easy to carry and use
- Comfort after meals
There is not enough independent feedback here to call those themes reliable. Low review confidence — the 4.94 from 34 reviews is shown only on Banyan’s own page through a Judge.me widget, with no Amazon listing found and no Trustpilot product score read.
Why it might work
Banyan describes Easy Digest as a fast-acting herbal blend traditionally taken before meals to stoke the appetite and kindle the digestive fire, or after meals for comfort. Several ingredients are carminative seeds (coriander, fennel, anise, cardamom, celery seed) and others are bitters or cooling herbs (gentian, peppermint, licorice, ginger), a mix familiar from European digestive bitters as well as Ayurveda. Peppermint, anise, licorice and ginger each have human trials in dyspepsia or IBS, though in other forms and doses. Banyan does not give a classical formula name or sell it by dosha, and the panel does not say how much of each herb is in a serving.
What the trials show
No trial of this extract was found. Single ingredients have trials, mostly as oils or standardized extracts: peppermint oil improved IBS symptoms across 10 trials with more adverse events, anise oil left 75 percent of 120 people symptom-free against 35 percent on placebo, and a licorice extract lowered dyspepsia scores over 30 days. This is a 1:2 alcohol extract with one 500 mg herb-equivalent figure for nine herbs, so the per-herb dose cannot be compared with those trials.
What the label discloses
The panel is one 500 mg proprietary blend per 1 mL (30 drops) with nine herbs listed in order and no per-herb amounts; the strength ratio is 1:2, and the other ingredients are water and 45 to 55 percent organic grain alcohol. Banyan states third-party testing for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury and compliance with the ANSI 173 and AHPA guidelines, but publishes no results or certificate for this product. The bottle photo shows certification by Organic Certifiers and a Banyan Albuquerque address, with no country of manufacture printed.
Read more on the plants in the formula: Fennel, Anise, Licorice, Cardamom, Peppermint, Gentian, Ginger, with the trials, doses and cautions for each.
Who this tends to suit
The symptoms it is scored against are bloating, gas, general abdominal discomfort and symptoms that follow particular foods. It is scored for a goal of day-to-day comfort or handling meals. Symptoms get Easy Digest Liquid Extract onto the shortlist; what you have tried, the format you will keep up and your medicines decide whether it stays there.
Where it may not fit
The label supports gluten-free and vegan. For people pregnant or breastfeeding or taking prescription medication, the quiz excludes it rather than naming it, because that choice belongs with a prescriber. It is a caution about the decision, not a verdict on the product. The honest question before buying Easy Digest Liquid Extract: will you take a liquid as often as the label directs?
Reactions and warnings
The extract is 45 to 55 percent alcohol, one reviewer notes it may not suit people who avoid alcohol, and another dislikes the licorice flavor. The label says not to use it during pregnancy (the web page adds lactation) and to ask a practitioner if taking medications or with a medical condition.
The questions that come up
Does Banyan Easy Digest work?
No published trial tests this extract. Several single ingredients have trials, such as peppermint oil in IBS and a licorice extract in functional dyspepsia, but as oils or standardized extracts at doses the one blend weight cannot be compared with. Banyan’s own page shows 4.94 from 34 reviews, with no independent rating found.
Is Banyan Easy Digest safe?
The label says not to use it during pregnancy and to consult a practitioner if nursing, taking medications or with a medical condition. It contains 45 to 55 percent alcohol, about 0.4 g per 30-drop serving, and licorice, whose glycyrrhizin NCCIH says has caused serious effects at small amounts in people with high blood pressure or heart or kidney conditions. Banyan states third-party metals testing but publishes no results.
What are the side effects of Easy Digest?
The label lists none beyond its warnings, and none of the 32 readable reviews is below 4 stars. Reviewers mention the licorice flavor and the alcohol content. Peppermint, an ingredient, is reported in a 2022 meta-analysis to cause more adverse events than placebo in IBS trials, though as an oil capsule.
How much does Easy Digest cost?
$16.99 for a 1 fl oz bottle with 30 servings of 1 mL (30 drops), or $0.57 a serving. At the bottle’s one to three servings a day that is $0.57 to $1.70 a day, and at the website’s two to three a day $1.13 to $1.70. Banyan offers a 90-day return for a refund of the price paid.
Easy Digest vs Vata Digest: what is the difference?
Easy Digest is a 1:2 alcohol extract of coriander, fennel, anise, licorice, cardamom, peppermint, celery seed, gentian and ginger, taken in drops and not sold by dosha. Vata Digest is a tablet blend of amla, cumin, black pepper, celery seed, ginger, black cumin, long pepper, mineral salt, fenugreek and asafoetida, sold for excess vata. Banyan lists both as balancing vata and kapha, and says each may aggravate pitta.
Before you take this. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or taking prescription medication. Easy Digest Liquid Extract is a supplement, not a medicine, and this page is information rather than advice.
Is this the right one for you?
The quiz checks Easy Digest Liquid Extract against your symptoms, your routine and what you have already tried, and says plainly if something else fits better.
Take the quiz →Free, private, and it names one product.
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Background reading
Where the numbers on this page come from, explained at length.