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Dandelion
Taraxacum Officinale
Family Weber Compositae
Taraxacum officinale, which means the “Official Remedy for Disorders”
otherwise known as the common dandelion. It is one most widely-respected plants, featuring in the Pharmacopoeias of Hungary, Poland, Switzerland and the Soviet Union as well as the the U.S. National Formulatory. Dandelion is one of the top 6 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine chest and has rated one of the
top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value[1].
Dandelion is corrupted French for 'dents de lion' (tooth of the lion), referring to the jagged edge of the leaf. It is also known as bitterwort, wild endive, Irish daisy and some other names as well. It is “universally considered a noxious weed that destroys lawns”[2] - we think it should be rephrased as “lawns should be considered noxious environments because they encourage mowing which destroys valuable plants like Dandelions”.
The leaf of the Dandelion is used for salads, soups and stir frys, as well as in herbal teas. Is considered a high nutrient food and is primarily used to stimulate the digestion.
The root is used for medicinal purposes and Dandelion coffee is a well known substitute for caffeine-rich coffee.
Dandelion acts as a tonic to the whole system and destroys acids in the blood. it is recognised as a great blood builder and Purifier.
Containing organic sodium it is very good for Anaemia caused by a nutritive salts deficiency. It is also effective as a Liver Cleanser.
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Dandelion - Taraxacum Officinale |
Vitamins
Dandelion contains vitamins A (the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver![3]), B1, B2, B3, C, D and E.
Minerals
Boron, Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Cobalt, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Silicon and Zinc.
Constituents
These main ingredients are found in Dandelions:
- Inulin, which converts to fructose in the presence of cold or hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Fructose forms glycogen in the liver without requiring insulin, resulting in a slower blood sugar rise, which makes it good for diabetics and hypoglycaemic.
- Pectin, which is anti-diarrheal and also forms ionic complexes with metal ions, which probably contributes to dandelion’s reputation as a blood and gastrointestinal detoxifying herb. Pectin can also lower cholesterol and, combined with Vitamin C, can lower it even more. Dandelion is a good source of both Pectin and Vitamin C.
- Coumestrol, an estrogen mimic which possibly is responsible, at least in part, for stimulating milk flow.
- Apigenin and Luteolin, two flavonoid glycosides which have been demonstrated to have diuretic, anti-spasmodic, anti-oxidant and liver protecting actions and properties, and also to strengthen the heart and blood vessels. They also have anti-bacterial and anti-hypoglycemic properties, and, as estrogen mimics, may also stimulate milk production;
- Gallic Acid, which is anti-diarrheal and anti-bacterial.
- Linoleic and Linolenic Acid, which are essential fatty acids required by the body to produce prostaglandin which regulate blood pressure and such body processes as immune responses which suppress inflammation. These fatty acids can lower chronic inflammation, such as proliferative arthritis, regulate blood pressure and the menstrual cycle.
- Several Sesquiterpene compounds which are what make dandelions bitter (a key indicator of many tonics[4]) and are highly anti-fungal.
- Taraxasterol, which may contribute to liver and gall bladder health.
There are also essential oils, inulin, levulin, choline, taraxacin, mucin, saponins, resin, fatty acids, sugars, pectin, gum, protein (16.5%)
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Actions
Diuretic, laxative, choloretic, tonic, stomachic, antioxidant, hepatic, alterative, aperient, anti-inflammatory, cholagogue.
Uses
Dandelion is used for children and babies in a tea as a gentle laxative.
These conditions respond excellently with Dandelion:
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- Anaemia
- Blood Pressure (Low)
- Blood Purifier
- Gall Bladder
- Hypoglycaemia
- Kidneys
- Skin Problems
- Water Retention
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These other Conditions also respond well to Dandelion:
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Acne
Age Spots
Appetite (Improve)
Bladder
Boils
Bronchitis
Cancer
Cleansing
Constipation
Cramps
Diabetes
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- Digestive Disorders
- Eczema
- Endurance
- Energy
- fatigue
- Fever
- Flue
- Fractures
- Gall Stones
- Gout
- Heartburn
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- Haemorrhage
- Insomnia
- Jaundice
- Liver
- Pancreas
- Psoriasis
- Senility
- Spleen
- Tonsillitis
- Vitality
- Wounds
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Taraxacum Officinale WEBER COMPOSITAE
Dandelion
Although the Dandelion is generally considered to be a ubiquitous weed, it is in fact one of the most useful of European herbs and all parts of the plant can be employed. It is an extremely effective medicinal plant, being possibly the safest and most-active plant diuretic and one of the best herbs known to treat liver complaints. Both the leaves and root have long been eaten as salad material, and in the last century cultivated forms with large leaves have been developed as an autumn and spring vegetable; these usually being blanched in the same way as Endive.
Dandelion roots provide (when dried, chopped and roasted) the best-known coffee substitute, and all parts have been employed in fermented and unfermented beers,wines and tonic drinks. Surprisingly the herb is rarely mentioned by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and it is generally considered that the Arabs promoted its use in the eleventh century.
By the sixteenth century it was well established as an official drug of the apothecaries, who knew it as Herba Taraxacon or Herba Urinaria - the latter term emphasizing its diuretic effect. It was also called Denta Leonis (lion's teeth), after the leaf shape, and from which term the common name is derived via the French dents de lion.
It is still retained in the national pharmacopoeias of Hungary, Poland, the Soviet Union and Switzerland. The Russian Dandelion (T. kok-saghyz Rodin.) was extensively cultivated during the Second World War as a source of rubber, which was extracted from the latex of the roots. Small quantities of a similar latex are found in T. officinale.
Description Variable perennial on taproot, to 30 cm tall. Leaves spatulate, oblong or oblanceolate, entire to runcinate-pinnatifid. Flowers yellow, on hollow scapes, appearing late spring to mid-summer.
Distribution Native to Europe and Asia; introduced elsewhere. On nitrogen-rich soils in any situation to 2000 m altitude.
Cultivation Wild. Propagated from seed sown in spring for use as an autumn salad herb. Blanch by earthing up or placing an inverted flower pot over the plant. Grow as an annual to prevent bitterness developing in the plant.
Constituents Taraxacin, a bitter principle; taraxerin, an acrid resin; taraxerol; taraxasterol; 3:4 dioxycinnamic acid; flavoxanthin; inulin; citric acid; phenyloxyacctic acid; riboflavin; sitosterol; sitosterin; stigmasterol; coumestrol; vitamins B, C and provitamin A.
Uses (fresh or dried roots, leaves and flowers) Diuretic; cholagogue; choleretic; laxative; bitter tonic; stomachic.
An excellent bitter tonic in atonic dyspepsia; a mild laxative in chronic constipation; a cholagogue and choleretic in liver disease (especially jaundice, cholecystitis and the primary stages of cirrhosis), Considered of benefit as an anti-rheumatic. As a bitter it promotes appetite and aids digestion. A very effective diuretic.
Leaf and root used as a salad; root is a coffee substitute. Flowers used in Dandelion wine, and leaves in Dandelion beer and tonic drinks. The plant is safe to use in large amounts.
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