|
|
Dandelion overview |
 50ml for AU$39.00
includes GST & postage |
| |
|
|
 | Dandelion - Taraxacum Officinale |
Taraxacum Officinale
Family Weber Compositae
Taraxacum officinale, which means the “Official Remedy for Disorders”
otherwise known as the common dandelion
[1] . It is one most widely-respected plants, featuring in the Pharmacopoeias of Hungary, Poland, Switzerland and the Soviet Union as well as the the U.S. National Formulatory. Dandelion is one of the top 6 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine chest and has been rated one of the
top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value
[2] .
Dandelion is corrupted French for 'dents de lion' (tooth of the lion), referring to the jagged edge of the leaf. It is also known as bitterwort, wild endive, Irish daisy and some other names as well. It is “universally considered a noxious weed that destroys lawns”
[3] - we think it should be rephrased as “lawns should be considered noxious environments because they encourage mowing which destroys valuable plants like Dandelions”.
The leaf of the Dandelion is used for salads, soups and stir frys, as well as in herbal teas. Is considered a high nutrient food and is primarily used to stimulate the digestion.
The root is used for medicinal purposes and Dandelion coffee is a well known substitute for caffeine-rich coffee.
Dandelion acts as a tonic to the whole system and destroys acids in the blood. it is recognised as a great blood builder and Purifier.
Containing organic sodium it is very good for Anaemia caused by a nutritive salts deficiency. It is also effective as a Liver Cleanser.
Dandelion uses |
50ml for AU$39.00
includes GST & postage |
| |
|
|
| Young plant in the aloe garden |
Dandelion works well with these conditions:
[4] [5] [6] [7] :
| |
- Anaemia
- Blood Pressure (Low)
- Blood Purifier
- Gall Bladder
- Hypoglycaemia
- Kidneys
- Skin Problems
- Water Retention
|
Dandelion is also used for children and babies in a tea as a gentle laxative.
These other Conditions also respond well to Dandelion:
| |
Acne
Age Spots
Appetite (improves)
Bladder
Boils
Bronchitis
Cancer
Cleansing
Constipation
Cramps
Diabetes
|
|
Digestive Disorders
Eczema
Endurance
Energy
fatigue
Fever
Flue
Fractures
Gall Stones
Gout
Heartburn
|
|
Haemorrhage
Insomnia
Jaundice
Liver
Pancreas
Psoriasis
Senility
Spleen
Tonsillitis
Vitality
Wounds
|
Contra-indications: It should not be used medicinally by pregnant or breast feeding women. May interfere with anti-diabetic drug, antihypertensives, diuretics and quinolone antibiotics.
Dandelion actions |
50ml for AU$39.00
includes GST & postage |
| |
|
|
| a mature Dandelion plant growing in sandstone!! |
Dandelion has these actions
[4] [5] [6] [7]
Major medicinal actions of Dandelion[8]
| |
- analgesic
- anthelmintic
- antiaging
- antibacterial
- anticancer
- antidepressant
- antidiabetic
- antihypertensive
- antiinflammatory
- antileukemic
- antimicrobial
- antioxidant
- antipyretic
- antirheumatic
- antiseptic
|
- antispasmodic
- antitumor
- antiulcerogenic
- antiviral
- ascorbic-acid
- astringent
- beta-carotene
- cholagogue
- choleretic
- choline
- cryptoxanthin
- demulcent
- detoxicant
- diuretic
- emetic
|
- emollient
- expectorant
- febrifuge
- fungicidal
- hypotensive
- laxative
- levulose
- linoleic-acid
- mucilage
- niacin
- riboflavin
- saponin
- sedative
- thiamin
- vulnerary
|
That is a lot of health-maintaining activity in just one plant. However there is more - here are other actions attributed to the constituents found in Dandelion. Of course not all of these are considered major actions of Dandelion, however the list does demonstrate just how comprehensive Dandelion’s health maintaining abilities are.
Other actions of Dandelion[8]
Dandelion constituents |
50ml for AU$39.00
includes GST & postage |
| |
|
|
| a young Dandelion plant |
Constituents
These main ingredients are found in Dandelions:
- Inulin, which converts to fructose in the presence of cold or hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Fructose forms glycogen in the liver without requiring insulin, resulting in a slower blood sugar rise, which makes it good for diabetics and hypoglycaemic.
- Pectin, which is antidiarrheal and also forms ionic complexes with metal ions, which probably contributes to dandelion’s reputation as a blood and gastrointestinal detoxifying herb. Pectin can also lower cholesterol and, combined with Vitamin C, can lower it even more. Dandelion is a good source of both Pectin and Vitamin C.
- Coumestrol, an estrogen mimic and galactagogue which possibly is responsible, at least in part, for stimulating milk flow.
- Apigenin and Luteolin, two flavonoid glycosides which have been demonstrated to have diuretic, antispasmodic, antioxidant and liver protecting actions and properties, and also to strengthen the heart and blood vessels. They also have antibacterial and antihypoglycemic properties, and, as estrogen mimics, may also stimulate milk production (galactagogue);
- Gallic Acid, which is antidiarrheal and antibacterial.
- Linoleic and Linolenic Acid, which are essential fatty acids required by the body to produce prostaglandin which regulate blood pressure and such body processes as immune responses which suppress inflammation. These fatty acids can lower chronic inflammation, such as proliferative arthritis, regulate blood pressure and the menstrual cycle.
- Several Sesquiterpene compounds which are what make dandelions bitter (a key indicator of many tonics
[9] ) and are highly antifungal.
- Taraxasterol, which may contribute to liver and gall bladder health.
There are also essential oils, levulin, choline, taraxacin, mucin, saponins, resin, fatty acids, sugars, gum, protein (16.5%)
Vitamins
Dandelion contains vitamins A (the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! [2]), B1, B2, B3, C, D and E.
Minerals
Boron, Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Cobalt, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Silicon and Zinc.
Complete list of active constituents found in Dandelion[8]
| |
- ascorbic-acid ( Leaf 350 - 2,430 ppm )
- beta-amyrin
- beta-carotene ( Root 84 ppm )
- beta-sitosterol
- boron ( Leaf 4 - 125 ppm )
- caffeic-acid
- calcium ( Leaf 1,870 - 13,000 ppm )
- chlorine ( Leaf 5,300 - 22,000 ppm )
- choline
- chromium ( Leaf 11 - 50 ppm )
- cobalt ( Root 80 ppm )
- copper ( Leaf 9 - 12 ppm )
- coumestrol
- cryptoxanthin
- cycloartenol
- faradiol
- fiber ( Leaf 4,400 - 111,110 ppm )
- fructose
- glucose ( Root 5,000 ppm )
- glutamic-acid
- glycerol
- inulin ( Root 250,000 - 400,000 ppm )
- iodine
- iron ( Leaf 31 - 5,000 ppm )
- lecithin ( Flower 29,700 ppm )
- levulose
- linoleic-acid
- lutein
- luteolin-7-glucoside
- magnesium ( Leaf 360 - 2,500 ppm )
|
- manganese ( Plant 100 - 130 ppm )
- mannitol
- molybdenum
- mucilage ( Root 85,000 ppm )
- niacin
- nickel
- nicotinic-acid
- oleic-acid
- p-coumaric-acid
- palmitic-acid
- phosphorus ( Leaf 591 - 4,583 ppm )
- potassium ( Leaf 3,970 - 27,569 ppm )
- riboflavin ( Leaf 1 - 18 ppm )
- selenium
- silicon ( Root 47 ppm )
- sodium ( Leaf 760 - 5,278 ppm )
- stigmasterol
- sucrose
- sulfur ( Plant 2,600 - 3,300 ppm )
- tannin
- taraxasterol
- taraxerol
- tartaric-acid
- thiamin ( Leaf 1 - 13 ppm )
- tin ( Root 13 ppm )
- tyrosinase
- violaxanthin
- xanthophyll
- zinc ( Root 13 - 60 ppm )
|
Dandelion history
Dandelions are believed to be some of the oldest plants on the planet [10]. They have been found in fossils dating back thirty million years ago in Eurasia. This plant has been consistently used by humans as a food, and as a medicinal plant for diuretic purposes.
Taraxacum Officinale WEBER COMPOSITAE
Dandelion
Although the Dandelion is generally considered to be a ubiquitous weed, it is in fact one of the most useful of European herbs and all parts of the plant can be employed. It is an extremely effective medicinal plant, being possibly the safest and most-active plant diuretic and one of the best herbs known to treat liver complaints. Both the leaves and root have long been eaten as salad material, and in the last century cultivated forms with large leaves have been developed as an autumn and spring vegetable; these usually being blanched in the same way as Endive.
Dandelion roots provide (when dried, chopped and roasted) the best-known coffee substitute, and all parts have been employed in fermented and unfermented beers,wines and tonic drinks. Surprisingly the herb is rarely mentioned by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and it is generally considered that the Arabs promoted its use in the eleventh century.
By the sixteenth century it was well established as an official drug of the apothecaries, who knew it as Herba Taraxacon or Herba Urinaria - the latter term emphasizing its diuretic effect. It was also called Denta Leonis (lion's teeth), after the leaf shape, and from which term the common name is derived via the French dents de lion.
It is still retained in the national pharmacopoeias of Hungary, Poland, the Soviet Union and Switzerland. The Russian Dandelion (T. kok-saghyz Rodin.) was extensively cultivated during the Second World War as a source of rubber, which was extracted from the latex of the roots. Small quantities of a similar latex are found in T. officinale.
Description Variable perennial on taproot, to 30 cm tall. Leaves spatulate, oblong or oblanceolate, entire to runcinate-pinnatifid. Flowers yellow, on hollow scapes, appearing late spring to mid-summer.
Distribution Native to Europe and Asia; introduced elsewhere. On nitrogen-rich soils in any situation to 2000 m altitude.
Cultivation Wild. Propagated from seed sown in spring for use as an autumn salad herb. Blanch by earthing up or placing an inverted flower pot over the plant. Grow as an annual to prevent bitterness developing in the plant.
Constituents Taraxacin, a bitter principle; taraxerin, an acrid resin; taraxerol; taraxasterol; 3:4 dioxycinnamic acid; flavoxanthin; inulin; citric acid; phenyloxyacctic acid; riboflavin; sitosterol; sitosterin; stigmasterol; coumestrol; vitamins B, C and provitamin A.
Uses (fresh or dried roots, leaves and flowers) Diuretic; cholagogue; choleretic; laxative; bitter tonic; stomachic.
An excellent bitter tonic in atonic dyspepsia; a mild laxative in chronic constipation; a cholagogue and choleretic in liver disease (especially jaundice, cholecystitis and the primary stages of cirrhosis), Considered of benefit as an antirheumatic. As a bitter it promotes appetite and aids digestion. A very effective diuretic.
Leaf and root used as a salad; root is a coffee substitute. Flowers used in Dandelion wine, and leaves in Dandelion beer and tonic drinks. The plant is safe to use in large amounts. |
Dandelion tincture |
50ml for AU$39.00
includes GST & postage |
| |
|
|
Why choose a tincture?
| Dandelion tincture 50ml | |
Generally we suggest that the less processing plant material is subjected to, the more it retains its healing attributes. Fresh is best, air-dried is next and so on.....
We also agree with Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and when you notice a need for preventive measures - the first occurence of symptoms or an exposure to a contagious source - the time it takes to obtain the appropriate remedy can change the opportunity for prevention into the need for a cure.
The traditional way to store plant materials for use when the fresh plant is unavailable to air-drying, hanging the leaves etc in a dim, dry space until the moisture content is minimised.
Dried material needs to be protected from damp, humidity, pests and vermin. As a general guide properly dried material has a shelf life of:
- Flowers : 3 - 6 months
- Fruit: 12 - 36 months
- Leaves: 6 - 18 months
- Roots: 12 - 36 months
|
Dandelion tincture will last several years or more without losing potency
[11] which means it is ideally suited for keeping in the home to use when needed - a valuable addition to your preventative medicine chest.
Tinctures are also more convenient than teas as they can be added straight to any drink for immediate use without the need to boil water and wait for half an hour or longer and so are ideal when you are travelling.
Dandelion cultivation
| Dandelion seed head |
Highly nutritious and known to treat a variety of ailments, dandelion is a great plant to grow in your garden. From heart problems to acne, liver diseases to eye conditions, most people are unaware that this weed has higher amounts of potassium than bananas and more vitamin A than carrots. Dandelion is also reported to have anti-rheumatic capacities. It is also a powerful diuretic with additional laxative properties. Good for hepatic and gallbladder conditions, digestive complaints, as well as general constipation [10].
Dandelion is one of the hardiest around. It can grow most everywhere, regardless of soil conditions, but does best in rich soil with sufficient moisture.
| ready for the wind to do the work | |
It is very strong and can do well in hot summers and cold winters, but prefers full sun but also does well in partial shade.
Propagation is by seed - plant the dandelion seeds in early spring in well-drained, fertile soil directly in the garden 1/4 inch deep. Once mature the wind will do the work for you and it is a delight to see the seeds gently parachuting around the area looking for a sheltered spot to lodge and grow.
| a young Dandelion plant |
They often find a tiny crack in our sandstone or concrete and will grow in what seems to be a very inhospitable site.
You can harvest the green leaves throughout the growing season, roots are best harvested in autumn - extract the entire root from the ground and avoid breakage.
References
 Dandelion Tincture Product Details
Name: Dandelion Tincture 50ml
Category: Tincture
Description: used in salads, soups and stir frys and herbal tinctures
Created at: Middle Path Product #: mpn:tinct9 Price #:
$ 39.00 Delivery: Shipped
Buy product page: Dandelion Tincture page in webshop
|
|
