In 2021, most modern people consider dandelion a weed, but this plant has been actively used in herbal medicine for dozens of centuries. The herb itself, from root to flower, is edible and has a slightly bitter, chicory-like taste. The dried or fresh root can be found as a tea, tincture, or capsule extract for daily use for medicinal purposes.
What are the benefits of dandelion root?
Medicinal properties
Since ancient times, dandelion has been known as a remedy that can heal a person. It is used to improve the functioning of the stomach, takes part in metabolism, and helps maintain sugar at the proper level. Its different particles help with constipation and cough. The plant helps strengthen the human immune system.
The root improves the digestion process and liver function, and the leaves provide a diuretic effect. Products containing the root cleanse the blood.
The juice from the plant supports liver functions. Powder from the root part helps to quickly heal skin wounds.
Types of drugs in the pharmacy and rules for taking them
Traditionally, dandelion root was roasted and consumed as a drink, and the leaves were used in salads, soups and sandwiches. Today, dandelion is used in a similar way. It is also available in the form of capsules, powders and extracts.
The most convenient form of the drug is a capsule. Most often it is a powder made from dried dandelion root, placed in a gelatin shell. This shell easily dissolves in the stomach and allows the body to quickly absorb nutrients. The biggest advantage in this case is the absence of the bitter and unpleasant taste of dandelion.
For those who for some reason cannot take medicine in capsule form, the pharmacological market produces tablets. They are often supplemented with other medicinal ingredients, such as turmeric, depending on the purpose of the medicine.
An alternative is powder made from crushed dandelion roots. It is most often found in pharmacies. The powder has several uses, including the preparation of tinctures and decoctions. They are eaten up to three times a day. For external use, a paste-like mixture is prepared from the powder by adding water, which is applied to gauze and applied to the damaged area. This compress helps relieve inflammation and pain caused by injury.
It is not recommended to abuse medications containing dandelion root, as they contain a huge amount of active substances.
- For tablets, the standard dose is 2 tablets in the morning and 3 in the evening.
- Capsules are usually taken 2-3 times a day with water.
- As for the decoction, it is recommended to drink half a glass 2-3 times a day immediately before meals.
How to take dandelion root?
The dosage may vary depending on the purpose of use. When purchasing a dandelion root supplement, first read the instructions for use.
Recommended dosages for various forms of dandelion prepared at home:
- fresh leaves: 4-10 g daily;
- fresh roots: 2-8 g daily;
- dried leaves: 4-10 g daily;
- freshly squeezed juice: 1 teaspoon (5 ml) twice a day;
- leaf tincture: 0.4-1 teaspoon (2-5 ml) three times a day.
Use in medicine
In official medicine there are many medicines that contain dandelion. For example, the drug Anavita restores cartilage tissue. There are also many dietary supplements in the form of tablets that have a positive effect on the condition of the joints.
In folk medicine, healing decoctions, teas, and tinctures are prepared from dandelion. If you wash your face with a decoction of the plant, you can remove freckles. Tincture in the form of lotions on the eyelids improves vision. If you rub dandelion juice into your skin, you can get rid of cellulite.
Dandelion also helps fight herpes and eczema. A salad with the roots of the plant allows you to improve male sexual activity and female reproductive function.
Composition of dandelion
So: what does yellow dandelion contain?
The roots contain 40% carbohydrates and 15-20% protein compounds, and 6% fat. There is a lot of phosphorus and calcium, carotene, mucus, tannins, stearins, organic acids, essential oils and some fiber. Dandelion leaves also contain vitamins C and P. These two important elements keep the walls of blood vessels in good shape, strengthen them and prevent the formation of blood clots, preventing the occurrence of heart attacks.
This simple dandelion flower, growing everywhere in our meadows, is rich in choline, B vitamins, tocopherol, potassium, magnesium, nicotinic acid, manganese and iron.
The leaves of this plant contain a lot of useful substances. In Western Europe, salads made from young dandelion leaves, collected before the plant blooms, are very popular.
Philosopher, poet, natural scientist Johann Wolfgang Goethe considered the dandelion leaf salad prepared by his mother to be the key to his longevity and efficiency. Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, who lived to a ripe old age, also loved to eat this salad.
What beneficial substances are included in their composition? Let's list the most famous ones:
- vitamins A, C, B 2, B 6, B 4 (choline), PP, E, K, D;
- macro and microelements calcium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, molybdenum, etc.;
- carotenoids, taraxanthin, flavoxanthin, taraxacin;
- proteins (in small quantities).
Use in cooking and weight loss
The most common and famous recipe is dandelion wine. The recipe is very easy. The finished drink can be drunk 100 ml per day. Wine cleanses the blood and normalizes blood circulation. Dandelion is also used to make coffee and jam.
The plant has proven itself well for weight loss. It has a diuretic effect and thereby helps remove excess fluid from the body without causing adverse reactions. In addition, the plant contains a minimum of calories, so it can be added to various dishes.
Dandelion honey is effective for joint problems, helps get rid of kidney stones, relieves muscle pain, improves metabolism (cannot be given to persons under 19 years of age, until the full formation of the skeleton has completed).
Best Dandelion Root Supplements on iHerb
Dandelions are very bitter, which is why many people don't like their taste. All the benefits from the plant can be obtained with the help of dietary supplements in an easy-to-use capsule form. Our editors have selected for you the best dandelion root extract preparations on the popular iHerb website.
Now Foods Vegetarian Capsules
The drug contains 100 capsules with a dosage of 500 mg of active substance each, and due to the high concentration, the manufacturer recommends limiting consumption to one capsule per day. It is recommended that you consult your doctor about using the capsules during pregnancy or when taking other medications.
Dandelion Root Now Foods on iHerb
Nature's Way dandelion roots in capsules
Each package contains 100 or 180 vegetarian capsules, each containing 525 mg of dandelion root. It is recommended to take 3 capsules once a day. Before using the supplement, do not forget to consult your doctor!
Nature's Way in capsules
Chopped root for decoction from Frontier Natural Products
The product from Frontier Natural Products is consumed as a tea. To prepare the drink, pour 2 teaspoons of the dried root with one glass of boiled water, and then leave for 3-5 minutes under the lid.
Natural Dandelion Root for Tea
Dangerous properties and contraindications
Possible harm from concurrent use of medications and dandelion:
- Antacid drugs. The plant triggers the process of more active removal of stomach acid, so antacids may not bring any results;
- Blood thinners. If you take these drugs in parallel with dandelion medications, the likelihood of bleeding increases;
- Lithium, used for mental disorders. Dandelion may reduce its effectiveness;
- Diuretics when taken simultaneously with dandelion can lead to electrolyte imbalance in the body;
- Medicines for diabetics, when taken in parallel with a plant that can lower the amount of sugar in the blood, can cause a significant increase in the level and hypoglycemia;
- Dandelion milk juice can lead to allergic reactions on the skin in the form of rashes and itching.
You need to add plant greens to dishes gradually and in small quantities and monitor the body’s reaction. Dandelion should be given to young children with extreme caution.
What are the benefits of dandelion root?
Today, dandelion is used to treat skin diseases, inflammation of the lymphatic system, anemia, and improve the functions of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. It affects the entire spectrum of metabolism, nutrition, assimilation, purification and excretion. The plant's action is especially focused on the liver, digestive system and kidneys.
Dandelion contains:
- various amino acids necessary for the body;
- sugar (for example, inulin - helps strengthen the immune system and normalize blood sugar levels);
- minerals such as iron, zinc, boron, calcium, silicon;
- vitamins A, B, C, K and E.
You can eat all parts of the dandelion - flowers, stems, leaves and roots. It is the root that contains the most active ingredients during flowering. In addition, the roots include many useful and valuable substances that have a general strengthening effect on the body: up to 15% protein, inulin, 10% taraxacin glycoside, unsaturated acids.
Dandelion root lowers cholesterol levels. This happens due to choline (also acts as a liver cleanser). Another important element, sterol, removes unnecessary fluid from the body (including bile) and reduces the risk of heart attack.
Thanks to triterpene acids, the plant root is known for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Beneficial properties of dandelion
- diuretics;
- sweatshops;
- antipyretics;
- choleretic;
- painkillers;
- antispasmodic;
- anti-inflammatory;
- antioxidant;
- tonic;
- general strengthening;
- regenerative;
- vitamins;
- detoxification;
- antitumor;
- antidiabetic;
- expectorants;
- strengthening the condition of the nervous and cardiovascular systems;
- regulating metabolism.
Radices Taraxaci - dandelion roots (Taraxaci radix - dandelion root)
Radices Taraxaci - dandelion roots (Taraxaci radix - dandelion root)
Collected at the end of summer or autumn, separated from the root collar, washed from the ground and dried roots of the wild perennial herbaceous plant dandelion - Taraxacum officinale Wigg. s. 1. from the family Compositae - Asteraceae (Compositae); used as a medicine and medicinal raw material.
Dandelion officinalis is a weed and meadow plant with a tap root. The leaves are narrowly oblanceolate in outline, glabrous, planum-shaped, all collected in a basal rosette. Peduncles are leafless, hollow, 5-40 cm in height, ending in a single basket. All flowers are ligulate, golden yellow. The fruit is an achene with a tuft (letula). All parts of the plant contain white milky sap. Blooms in May - July.
It has a Eurasian type of range. It is found throughout almost the entire territory of the CIS, except for the Arctic, high mountains and desert areas. It grows near villages, along roads, in meadows, pastures, in vegetable gardens, in parks, sometimes as a weed in crops.
The natural resources of raw materials in the CIS are significant, which is why their procurement in large volumes is possible. The main areas for collecting raw materials are Russia: Bashkiria, Voronezh, Kursk, Samara regions; Ukraine, Belarus.
Chemical composition. Dandelion roots contain sesquiterpenoid bitters of the eudesmane group (taraxolide-p-O-glucopyranoside, etc.), germacrane (pOD-glucoside of taraxic acid); triterpenoids of the a-amyrin group (taraxasterol, arnidiol, faradiol), p-amyrin, as well as sterols; carotenoids; flavonoids of the flavone group; inulin (up to 40%); concentrate Zn, Cu, Se.
Glc—O
pOD-Taraxic acid glucoside
R = OH - arnidiol
Harvesting, primary processing and drying. Dandelion roots are collected at the end of summer - autumn, dug up with shovels or plowed with a plow, shaken off the ground, cut off the above-ground part, rhizomes (“neck”) and small roots, then immediately washed in cold water, after which the roots are dried in the air for several days ( until the milky juice stops secreting when the roots are cut). Dry in attics with good ventilation, under awnings. Can be dried in ovens and dryers at a temperature of 40-50 °C. Repeated procurement of raw materials from the same thickets should be carried out at intervals of 2-3 years.
Standardization. The authenticity of raw materials and their quality is regulated by the State Fund XI, Amendment No. 1.
External signs. Whole raw materials are represented by tap roots, few branches, whole or broken, 2-15 cm long, 0.3-3 cm thick. The roots are longitudinally wrinkled, sometimes spirally twisted. The fracture is granular, located in the center of the root
Rice. 70. Dandelion officinalis:
a — fragment of a tangential section of the root: 1 — laticifers: 2 — parenchyma: b — diagram of a cross section of the root: 1 — plug; 2 - bark with laticifers: 3 - cambium; 4 - wood; 5 - core beam
yellow wood, surrounded by wide grayish-white bark. In the crust (under a magnifying glass) groups of laticifers are visible, located in concentric belts. The outside color ranges from light brown to dark brown. There is no smell. The taste is bitter with a sweetish aftertaste.
Crushed raw materials are a mixture of pieces of roots of various shapes, passing through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm.
Microscopy. Lactarians have important diagnostic value. On transverse sections of the root they are presented in groups located in the cortex in concentric rows; in addition, groups of cells filled with clumps of inulin are visible. In longitudinal sections, the laticifers have the appearance of tubes elongated along the length of the root, anastomosing with each other (Fig. 70).
Qualitative reactions. First, a reaction is carried out for the absence of starch (with iodine solution), and then a reaction is carried out for inulin with a 20% alcohol solution of a-naphthol and concentrated sulfuric acid (purple-pink color).
Numerical indicators. For whole raw materials, extractive substances extracted with water, at least 40%; humidity no more than 14%; total ash no more than 8%; ash, insoluble in a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid, no more than 4%; roots that have turned brown at the fracture, no more than 10%; roots poorly separated from root collars and leaf petioles, no more than 4%; flabby roots no more than 2%; organic impurities - no more than 0.5%, mineral - no more than 2%.
For crushed raw materials, the same indicators are established for the content of extractives, moisture, ash, browned pieces of roots, organic and mineral impurities, and the content of particles that do not pass through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm (no more than 10%) and that pass through the sieve is regulated with holes with a diameter of 0.5 mm (no more than 10%).
Storage. Store in cool, dry places. Shelf life: 5 years.
Usage. The roots are used in the form of a decoction as a bitterness to stimulate appetite, a choleretic agent, and for constipation. Included in appetizing, gastric and diuretic preparations. A thick extract is obtained from the roots, which is included in the preparations “Holaflux” and “Ultravit”. Used in homeopathy and cosmetics.
