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 ETYMOLOGY
Taraxacum is a name given in the late Middle Ages, from the greek “tarasso” which means stirred or anxiety. Dandelion is derived from the French dent de lion meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the plant’s perforated leaves, which resemble the teeth of a lion.
BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Family: Asteracea
Description: A perennial herbaceous plant with leaves that are usually large fusiform, simple or slightly branched and forming a basal rosette . The leaves additionally are sessile and elongated, with a characteristically large central ribs, meaty, and exhibiting large triangular teeth at their boarders (hence the vernacular name dandelion). The flower is a composite, characteristic of the Asteracea family. The yellow flowers bloom all year round, weather permitting, but especially during spring and summer. The fruits are achenes and are small, furrowed and brown.
Habitat: The dandelion is a species of the temperate regions and grows in any type of terrain, from the mountains to the sea.
Cultivation: To ensure proper development of the root, the seeds should be planted in soil that is sandy, loose and aerated. The plant is proliferated by its seeds. During the driest periods of the summer, dandelion benefits from one or more irrigations.
Method of Harvest:
The whole plant is harvested during the spring of its third year of life, just before flowering.
Parts Utilized:
Root.
ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS: Derivatives of Caffeic Acid
MODE OF ACTION
Actions: Dandelion increases biliary and stomach secretions, alleviates dyspepsia, and is a diuretic.
Precautions:Preparations of dandelion should be used carefully in patients with gallbladder disorders and in patients suffering from peptic ulcers (as it stimulates gastric and billiary secretions).
COMMON INDICATIONS
As a medicinal herb: The dandelion is an excellent liver and renal depurative. It is also a useful remedy in disorders of dyspepsia, slow digestion, and to maximize diuresis.
Traditional use:
Externally, folk medicine uses dandelion as a remedy for warts. The roots can also be harvested in the autumn, when they are rich in inulin, roasted, and used as a substitute for coffee. Traditionally, dandelion was used as a purifier in gout and rheumatic disorders, and as a mild laxative (thanks to its stimulus of bile flow).
PREPARATION AND USE
Internal Use: Ingested via capsules containing the plant’s dry extract or in equivalent preparations containing 3-4mg of the derivatives of caffeic acid.
Culinary Use: Dandelion extracts are popularly used in digestive alcoholic drinks (bitters). The plant is also used as a flavouring for cakes, baked goods, jellies and cheeses. The young leaves, especially those of the cultivated plant, are used as a vegetable in salads, etc., and the flowers are even used in the preparation of a type of wine.
HISTORY AND LEGENDS
Physicians in Ancient China used to prescribe dandelion to treat many disorders (including colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, boils, ulcers, and obesity). The Arab physicians of the tenth century were the first to recognize its diuretic properties. In the seventeenth century, the dandelion was so popular as a diuretic that it commonly became called "piscialletto" (from the French “pissenlit”), a name still in use in the Tuscan dialect.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Reference
“Flavonoids, cinnamic acids and coumarins from the different tissues and medicinal preparations of Taraxacum officinale.” Phytochemistry. 1996 May;42(1):121-7.
“Taraxacum--a review on its phytochemical and pharmacological profile.” J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Oct 11;107(3):313-23. Epub 2006 Jul 22.
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