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Taraxacum officinale (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg (Asteraceae/Compositae)

(Syns.: T. dens-leonis Desf.; T. vulgare (Lam.) Schrank)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

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Abstract

A temperate zone perennial weed and a native of Europe, widely distributed in warmer temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, and naturalized throughout North and South America, southern Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and India. It has been known since ancient times for its curative properties for various ailments such as dyspepsia, heartburn, spleen and liver complaints, hepatitis and anorexia. Avicenna mentioned a kind of wild endive with the name Tarkhashkun . Taraxacum was popular in India in cases of hepatic congestion due to or associated with atonic dyspepsia and constipation. The plant was largely cultivated in India for its roots, which are believed to be diuretic, tonic and slightly aperient, and are considered chiefly useful for kidney and liver complaints. In large doses powdered root is a hepatic stimulant, and very beneficial in obstructions of liver, chronic hepatic and splenic congestion, and visceral diseases. In Jordanian folk medicine, it is commonly used for the treatment of panophthalmitis, chronic constipation, diabetes, and to treat male infertility, and is used as a remedy for anemia, to purify blood, and for immune modulation in Iranian traditional medicine. In TCM, it is regarded as a nontoxic herb with exceptional values for its choleretic, diuretic, antirheumatic and anti-inflammatory properties, while in Korean folk medicine it is used to improve energy levels and health. In Mexican and North American traditional medicines and home recipes, it is used for loss of appetite, dyspepsia, flatulence, gallstones, bile stimulation, as laxative, diuretic, circulatory tonic, skin toner, blood tonic, digestive tonic, and for the treatment of viral and bacterial infections and cancer, and lactagogue, and the juice of fresh plant is applied to snakebites. It is consumed as food in southern Italy, as people from these regions appreciate wild vegetables that have a strong and bitter taste, and in central Italy it is used to treat warts. In Netherland, the plant extract was a common remedy for intermittent fevers and agues. Dandelion contains sesquiterpenes, saponins, phenolic compounds, sugars, and flavonoids. Pretreatment of mice with aqueous and ethanol root extracts offers complete prevention of alcohol- and CCl4-hepatotoxicity.

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  1. Stockton, CA, USA

    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Taraxacum officinale (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg (Asteraceae/Compositae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_180

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