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Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Other Names
French dent-de-lion
Indo-European "lion's teeth"
Common name in France is pissenlit ("piss in bed")
Taraxacum from Greek "taraxos " & "akos" (disorder and remedy)
Constituents - The Chemistry of the Plant
Taraxacin, acrystalline, bitter substance
Constituents are sesquiterpene lactones - Give a bitter taste to leaves.
anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. Digestive bitters.
Amylase is produced which is the first step in digestion. Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch foods. "The pancreas and salivary gland make amylase (alpha amylase) to hydrolyse dietary starch into disaccharides and trisaccharides which are converted by other enzymes to glucose to supply the body with energy. Plants and some bacteria also produce amylase."
Phenylpropanoids, inflammation-modulating effects
Triterpenoid saponins that in other herbs are adaptogenic; polysaccharides, and inulin, a dietary fiber.
Roots:
Sesquiterpenes (bitter substances): taraxacin, germacranolides.
Triterpenes and sterols: beta sitosterol glycosides, taraxasterol, arnidol, faradiol.
Flavonoids: apigenin glucoside, luteolin glucoside.
Abundant mucilage and potassium salts.
Inulin (2% increasing to 40% in fall)
Leaves - flavonoids, coumarins, vitamins B and Vitamin C.
The active ingredients in T. officinale are found in both the roots and leaves. The leaves contain bitter sesquiterpene lactones, such as taraxinic acid, and triterpenoids, such as cycloartenol, taraxasterol and Ψ–taraxasterol. The roots, in addition to these compounds, contain phenolic acids, inulin and others sesquiterpenes, including the eudesmanolides, tetrahydroridentin B and taraxacolide-O - β- glucopyranoside; the guaianolides 11 β, 13 - dihydrolactucin and ixerin D; three germacranolide esters, taraxinic acid β-glucopyranoside, its 11,13-dihydro-derivative and ainslioside; and various triterpenes, their acetates and 16-hydroxy derivatives
Tea * Food * Tincture
Parts used: All parts of the dandelion plant can be used: the flowers, leaves and roots. Best to use the leaves and dried root before flowering.
-Roots are demulcent and probiotic due to their inulin content
-Root and leaf have hypoglycemic properties
-Fresh dandelion root or leaf may be eaten as food at up to 50 g or more
-Leaf: Kidney function , nutritive, minerals, high potassium, magnesium.
-Extracts are "generally recognized as safe"
-Latex of the stalk is applied to remove warts
Fall - Sweet, energy in the roots, all energy upward growth.
Summer - Bitter in the summer, low inulin.
Small birds are very fond of the seeds of the Dandelion and pigs devour the whole plant greedily. Goats will eat it, but sheep and cattle do not care for it, though it is said to increase the milk of cows when eaten by them. Horses refuse to touch this plant, not appreciating its bitter juice. It is valuable food for rabbits and may be given them from April to September forming excellent food in spring and at breeding seasons in particular. No less than ninety-three different kinds of insects are in the habit of frequenting it.
The leaves should always be torn to pieces, rather than cut, in order to keep the flavor.
Young leaves can be placed into salads. The dried Dandelion leaves are also employed as an ingredient in many digestive or diet drinks and herb beers. Dandelion Beer is a rustic fermented drink. Fermented drink is made from Dandelions, Nettles and Yellow Dock.
How Dandelion Wine is made...
In Berkshire and Worcestershire, the flowers are used in the preparation of a beverage known as Dandelion Wine. This is made by pouring a gallon of boiling water over a gallon of the flowers. After being well stirred, it is covered with a blanket and allowed to stand for three days, being stirred again at intervals, after which it is strained and the liquor boiled for 30 minutes, with the addition of 3 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, a little ginger sliced, the rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon sliced. When cold, a little yeast is placed in it on a piece of toast, producing fermentation. It is then covered over and allowed to stand two days until it has ceased 'working,' when it is placed in a cask, well bunged down for two months before bottling. This wine is suggestive of sherry slightly flat, and has the deserved reputation of being an excellent tonic, extremely good for the blood.
The roasted roots are largely used to form Dandelion Coffee, being first thoroughly cleaned, then dried by artificial heat, and slightly roasted till they are the tint of coffee, when they are ground ready for use. The roots are taken up in the autumn, being then most fitted for this purpose. The prepared powder is said to be almost indistinguishable from real coffee, and is claimed to be an improvement to inferior coffee, which is often an adulterated product.
Medicinal Actions and Uses
Traditionally used to stimulate dieresis, to increase bile flow and appetite, to treat dyspepsia, and to treat gastrointestinal ailments.
Anti Inflammatory
Hepatoprotective - protects liver from toxins
Hepatic Trophorestorative - restore balance function to liver
Hepatic Stimulant - stimulates liver function
Hepatic Trophorestorative - restore balance function to liver
Cholagogue(Gallbladder) - stimulates bile secretion
Choleretic (Liver)- stimulates bile production in liver
Diuretic, tonic and slightly aperient. It is a general stimulant to the system, but especially to the urinary organs, and is chiefly used in kidney and liver disorders.
Dandelion is used as a bitter tonic in atonic dyspepsia, and as a mild laxative in habitual constipation. When the stomach is irritated and where active treatment would be injurious, the decoction or extract of Dandelion administered three or four times a day, will often prove a valuable remedy. It has a good effect in increasing the appetite and promoting digestion.
Furosemide - is a synthetic compound with a strong diuretic action, used especially in the treatment of edema. Dandelion is just as effective.
Identify
T. officinale has deeply serrated large leaves that are either light or dark green and are clustered in a rosette at the base of the plant. The flowering stalks are long and upstanding and carry a solitary terminal inflorescence. The inflorescence ranges from 7 to 15 mm in diameter and is composed of 140-400 yellow ligulate florets. The fruits are conical brown achenes that are crowned by a white, hairy pappus that allows the seeds to be distributed by wind.
Sources
http://cms.herbalgram.org/ , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5553762/, https://www.phytochemicals.info/plants/dandelion.php , https://www.medicinalplants-pharmacognosy.com/herbs-medicinal-plants/dandelion/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0102695X14000520#fig0005
https://www.honeybeesuite.com/honey-bees-cannot-survive-on-dandelions-alone/