Gen
info
The word Dandelion
derives from the old French dent-de-lion,
meaning "lion's tooth." referring to the toothed edges of
its leaves. It has been in use medicinally since the 10th century.
Botany
Milkly perennial herb.
Leaves are radical and smooth, stalkless, oblanceolate, spatulate or
oblong, 7 to 20 cm long, toothed and pinnatifid. The heads are solitary
on stalks 10-20 cm long. Like the African daisy, it has numerous golden
yellow flowers.
Chemical constituents and properties
• Aperient,
depurative, diuretic, laxative,stomachic, tonic.
• Root is milky and bitter.
• Plant contains inosit, asparagine, a reducing sugar, a bitter
principle, saponin, tyrosinase, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic
acid, resinic acids, cholin.
• The flowers contain inulin and a bitter alkaloid, taraxacin.
The milky juice contains taraxin, inosit, and taraxacerin.
• The root contains an abundance of sesquiterpene lactones (taraxacin and taraxacerin). Other compounds include beta-amyrin, taraxasterol, and free sterols.
• Contains an antioxidant, luteolin.
Distribution
Found wild in the Benguet
areas and limited cultivation in lawns and backyards in some parts of
the Philippines for its flowering plant.
Parts used and preparation
Roots, leaves.
Uses
Nutritional
Used by some as salad
component.
A rich source of vitamins A, B, C and D as well as minerals.
Folkloric
• Its multiplicity
of uses rates it a herbal cure-all, especially for the treating hepato-biliary
disease and as a diuretic.
• in Europe, widely
used for gastrointestinal ailments. It is taken as broth with leaves
of sorrel and egg yolk for chronic liver congestion.
• Used for its gently
laxative effect and as bitter tonic in atonic dyspepsia.
• Promotes appetite and digestion.
• Root preparation used for a variety of conditions: fevers, diabetes,
eczema, scurvy, bowel inflammation.
• Pounded poultice of leaves applied to wounds and cuts.
• As a drink: 20 gms of root to a cup of boiling water, take 3-5
glasses a day.
• Juice of the stalk used to remove warts.
• Powdered dried roots used with coffee, and a substitute for
coffee when roasted and powdered.
• Extract of dandelion used as remedy for fevers and chills.
• Infusion used to treat anemia, jaundice and nervousness.
• Decoction of root herb taken for scrofula, eczema, scurvy and
various skin eruptions.
• Used for eczema and acne.
• Native American Indians have used infusions and decoctions of
the root and herb for kidney diseases, dyspepsia and heartburn.
• Traditional Arabian medicine has used it for liver and spleen
diseases.
• Chinese medicine used it for hepatitis,bronchitis, pneumonia,
as a topical compress for mastitis.
Others
Dandelion wine.
Studies
• Studies in laboratory animals (1) suggest root may possess
anti-inflammatory properties (2) report antioxidant activity from the flower extract, and (3) leaves might have a mild diuretic effect.
• Liver cancer:
South Korean study suggests that Taraxacum officinale decreased cell
viability and increased the TNF-alpha and interleukin-1alpha production.
• Lipid metabolism:
Dandelion water extract had effects on lipid metabolism: decreased total
chol and triglycerides while increasing the HDL-chol in diabetic rats.
• Anti-inflammatory / Anti-angiogenic
/ Antinociceptive: The study showed Taraxacum officinale
contains anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-noniceptive activities
through inhibition of NO production and COX-2 expression and/or oxidative
activity.
• Anticancer: Study
of aqueous extracts from mature leaves, flowers and roots showed anti-carcinogenic
activity on breast and prostate cancer cells and suggests that the extracts
or individual components may be of value as novel cancer agents.
• Antioxidant / Radical Scavenging:
Study identified flavonoids and coumaric acid derivatives from the dandelion
flower.The dandelion flower extract suppressed both superoxide and hydroxyl
radical.
• Hypoglycemic Effect:
(1) Animal studies have shown hypoglycemic activities attributed in part to the high inulin content of the plant. (2) A case report of hypoglycemia attributed to ingestion of dandelion.
• Cytotoxicity / Antitumore:
Previous studies have indicated Taraxacum officinale exhibits anti-tumor properties. In a study investigating its effect on cytotoxicity and production of cytokines in human hepatoma cell line, results showed cytotoxicity effects through TNF-a and IL-1a secretion in Hep G2 cells.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Cultivated for its flowering plant.
|
