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
Dandelion is a milkly perennial herb.
Roots are vertical. Leaves are all radical, smooth, or wooly on the crown and scaped. Leaves are stalkless, oblanceolate, spatulate or
oblong, 7 to 20 cm long, toothed and pinnatifid in the margins; lobes are pointed and more or less toothed. Heads are solitary and grow
on stalks 10-20 cm long with numerous golden yellow flowers. Involucre is bell-shaped, 1.5 to 2 cm long. The inner involucral bracts are erect, and often thickened or clawed at the tip; the outer ones are ovate, or linear, appressed, and more or less recurved. Achenes are narrowly obovoid, ribbed, and about 3 mm long, with the beak one-half as long as the body.
Distribution
- Found wild in the Benguet
Subprovince, Luzon, as a naturalized species on lawns, at an altitude of about 1,400 m.
- Introduced, being a temperate zone weed.
- Native of Europe.
Constituents
• 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.
Properties
• Aperient,
depurative, diuretic, laxative,stomachic, tonic.
• Root is milky and bitter.
Parts used
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.
• Used in Chinese medicine 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.
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