Dandelion

Actions: 

  • Leaves: Diuretic, hepatic and digestive tonic.
  • Root: Liver tonic, cholagogue, diuretic, laxative, antirheumatic

Plant Part: Leaves, root, and aerial parts

Usage:

  1. Leaves – T. Officinale
  • Juice: Either the juice or fluid extract should be used when a diuretic action is needed. Up to 20ml three times daily can be used.
  • Infusion: This is less effective than the juice but can be used as a cleaning herb in toxic conditions. The freshly dried leaves should be used.
  • Fresh herb: the leaves can be added to spring salads as cleaning remedy.
  • Tincture: This is often added to remedies for a failing heart and ensures adequate potassium intake.
  1. Root – T. Officinale
  • Tincture: Fresh root should be used as a liver stimulant in hepatic disorders and for toxic conditions such as gout, eczema, or acne.
  • Decoction: Used as the tincture, but is less effective as a diuretic than the leaf.
  1. Aerial Parts –T. Mongolicum
  • Decoction: Use 10-30g to 300ml of water per dose for urinary tract infections, boils, and similar “hot” infections.

History:

A comparative newcomer to the medicinal repertoire, dandelion was not mentioned in Chinese herbals until the 17th century, while in Europe, It first appears in the Ortus Sanitatis of 1485. The name dandelion was apparently invented by a 15th century surgeon who compared the shape of the leaves to a lion’s tooth or dens leonis. In the West, we use the leaves and root separately, but the Chinese prefer just the aerial parts of various Asiatic species of dandelion, including T. Mongolicum.