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DANDELION ROOT
Source: Taraxacum officinale Wiggers
(syn.T. vulgare(Lam.) Schrank) and other
Taraxacumspecies (Family Compositae
or Asteraceae).
Common/vernacular names:Common dan-
delion, lion’s tooth, taraxacum.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Taraxacum officinaleis a perennial herb with
deeply cut leaves forming a basal rosette in
the spring and flower heads borne on long
stalks, up to about 45 cm high; native to
Europe and naturalized in North America,
occurring as a common weed on lawns. Re-
lated species are found worldwide. Parts used
are the dried rhizome and root; leaves and
flowers are sometimes used for direct domes-
tic consumption.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Root contains several triterpenes, including
taraxol, taraxerol, taraxasterol, y-taraxast-
erol, and b-amyrin; sterols (stigmasterol,
b-sitosterol);inulin(ca.25%);sugars(fructose,
glucose, sucrose, etc.); pectin; glucosides;
choline; phenolic acids (e.g., caffeic and
p-hydroxyphenylacetic acids; gum; resins and
vitamins (CLAUS;JIANGSU;KARRER).^1 Sesquiter-
pene lactones (free, e.g., dihydrolactucin,
ixerin D and ainslioside and glycoside, e.g.,
glucosyltaraxinic acid) have been reported in
addition to benzyl glucoside, syringin,
dihydrosyringin, and dihydroconiferin.2,3
Flowers contain carotenoids (e.g., lutein,
lutein epoxide, cryptoxanthin, cryptoxanthin
epoxide, flavoxanthin, chrysanthemaxanthin,
and violaxanthin) and their monoesters and
diesters with fatty acids (mainly myristic; also
lauric, palmitic and stearic acids); 2–4 arnidiol
(JIANGSU); flavonoids (free, e.g., luteolin and
chrysoeriol; and glycosides, e.g., luteolin-
7-glucoside) and coumaric acids.4,5
Leaves contain lutein, violaxanthin, among
other carotenoids; bitter substances; vitamins
A, B, C, and D; and others. Vitamin A content
(14,000 IU/100g) is higher than that in carrots
(11,000 IU/100g) (JIANGSU;WATT AND MERRILL).
The herb and root extracts contain hydro-
xycinnamic acids, for example, chicoric,
caffeoylquinic and caffeoyl tartaric acids,
and others.5,6
Coumesterol (seealfalfaandred clover,
has been reported present in dandelion with
plant part not specified (JIANGSU).^7PHARMACOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL
ACTIVITIESDandelion (plant part not specified) has been
reported to exhibit hypoglycemic effects in
experimental animals and to cause contact
dermatitis in humans.8,9
Dandelion root is generally considered to
have diuretic, choleretic, tonic and laxative
properties, among others (ESCOP 3;
MARTINDALE)^10
Rodent experiments have confirmed diur-
etic activity of a fluid extract of the herb238 Dandelion root