Project Description

Taraxacum officinale

Dandelion is a valuable herb to grow (Not a useless weed) and has many medicinal uses and is highly nutritional high in iron, calcium ad vitamin A, B6, E, K and rich in antioxidants.

There are 3457 papers on or mentioning dandelion on PubMed.

The leaves and root are used but have different properties.

Dandelion leaf is used more as a diuretic (for water retention) in oedema ad as a mild laxative The leaf is also choleretic (increase production of bile by the liver) so helpful for digestive liver insufficiency, dyspepsia and gall stones. Also good for healing gout.

The root has similar properties to the leaf is more of a bitter tonic so useful in anorexia and flatulent colic. Traditionally used for rheumatism and skin disorders. Any chronic skin issues always need liver support.

So easy to grow from seeds and the leaves taste nice in a mixed salad as well as a healthy cleansing tea. He root can be a healthy alternative to coffee

Dandelion includes potential bioactive components such as sesquiterpene lactones, taraxasterol taraxerol and chlorogenic acid. These components are non-toxic and can be exploited for their potentially anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-rheumatic, and choleretic\ properties (1).

Dandelion has shown to reduce oxidative stress and decrease cholesterol in animal studies so may be helpful in humans too.

One Study talked about how dandelion root could engage and effectively target multiple vulnerabilities of cancer cells. Therefore, DRE could be a non-toxic and effective anti-cancer alternative, instrumental for reducing the occurrence of cancer cells drug-resistance (3).

References:

  1. Wirngo FE, Lambert MN, Jeppesen PB. The Physiological Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) in Type 2 Diabetes. Rev Diabet Stud. 2016;13(2-3):113–131. doi:10.1900/RDS.2016.13.113
  2. Choi UK, Lee OH, Yim JH, et al. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) root and leaf on cholesterol-fed rabbits. Int J Mol Sci. 2010;11(1):67–78. Published 2010 Jan 6. doi:10.3390/ijms11010067
  3. Ovadje P, Ammar S, Guerrero JA, Arnason JT, Pandey S. Dandelion root extract affects colorectal cancer proliferation and survival through the activation of multiple death signalling pathways. Oncotarget. 2016;7(45):73080–73100. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.11485