- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Eurasia; now on all temperate continents. Taraxacum officinale
- Sanskrit
- Dugdha feni
Europe · Herb · № 97
Taraxacum officinale
Herb · Europe
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
The leaf is mildly diuretic; the bitter root was used for the liver and digestion. NCCIH notes there is little human research.
Safety notes
May cause allergy in people sensitive to the daisy family. Use caution with diuretics, lithium and certain antibiotics. Avoid with bile duct obstruction.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Ayurvedic materia medica: Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
- Chinese materia medica: Mildly laxative in high doses. Not with bile duct obstruction.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: Not with gallstones or together with diuretics.
Preparation
Young leaves in salads or as tea; root as decoction or roasted as a coffee substitute. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Arab physicians described it in the 10th and 11th centuries. The French name pissenlit ('wet the bed') refers to its diuretic effect. Chinese medicine also uses dandelion (pu gong ying).
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Leaf diuretic, liver and digestive tonic; root liver tonic, promotes bile flow, diuretic, laxative, antirheumatic.
Preparation and amount
Leaf juice or liquid extract up to 20 ml 3 times a day as a diuretic; leaf tea as a cleanser; young leaves in a spring salad; leaf tincture for heart failure (provides potassium); fresh root tincture as a liver stimulant for liver disease, gout, eczema and acne; T. mongolicum (10–30 g) for urinary infections and boils.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Stimulating, diuretic, induces sweating, tonic; valuable liver stimulant in liver congestion, chronic kidney disease, jaundice, hepatitis, indigestion, oedema and chronic skin diseases.
Preparation and amount
Root powder 0.5–1 g; decoction 28–56 ml; leaves as a compress.
Caution: Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- bitter, sweet, cold
- Meridians
- liver, stomach
Attributed effects
Pu gong ying cools heat and detoxifies in inflamed eyes, boils, abscesses and infections, drains damp heat in jaundice, hepatitis and cystitis and is a specific remedy for breast complaints such as mastitis, lumps and too little breast milk from heat.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 10–30 g a day, usually in a decoction. Roasted root is a tasty coffee substitute.
Combinations
- With yin chen hao for jaundice from damp heat
- With lou lu and gua lou for mastitis
Caution: Mildly laxative in high doses. Not with bile duct obstruction.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
As a laxative, for kidney complaints and liver spots; the leaves as a spring vegetable.
Preparation and amount
Boil the whole herb or the root; young leaves as a vegetable.
Caution: Not with gallstones or together with diuretics.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Long life, strengthens psychic abilities and intuition, spiritual and emotional cleansing.
Home, kitchen and folk use
Preparation and amount
Edible flower.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionTinctureCompress, poultice and pastePowder and kitchen
Tags
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- www.nccih.nih.gov
- Michael & Lesley Tierra, Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine, vol. II: Materia Medica and Herbal Resource (1998)
- Penelope Ody, The Complete Medicinal Herbal (1993; 2017)
- L. D. Kapoor, CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants (1990)
- James W. Herrick, Iroquois Medical Botany, ed. Dean R. Snow (1995)