HERBS: DANDELION

Taraxacum officinale
Action: Hepatic tonic, choleretic, cholagogue, diuretic, lithotriptic, laxative.
Systems Affected: Liver, gall-bladder, stomach, intestines, kidneys, bladder, blood. Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried root, dose 2-8 grams by infusion or decoction. Dried leaf, dose 4-10 grams by infusion.

Although generally considered a common weed which grows in lawns, around telegraph poles, along roadsides and on waste land, Dandelion is in fact one of the most useful of all herbs. It is an extremely effective medicinal plant, being possibly the safest and most active herbal diuretic and one of the best herbs known for treating liver complaints. 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 European apothecaries. Among other names it was referred to as Denta leonis (lion's teeth), after the leaf shape, from which term the common name is derived via the French dents de lion.
The chief benefits of the herb are exerted upon the liver. As Malcolm Stuart explains in The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism:
Diseases of the liver may lead to the impairment of the metabolism of all kinds of food and, since the liver is the main organ of detoxification in the body, to an accumulation of waste products.
The liver is closely associated with the gall-bladder and problems of these organs are usually considered in association. Hence some herbs are accredited with both choleretic action (stimulating production of bile, and thus working directly on the liver itself), and cholagogue action (increasing the release of bile from the gallbladder).
Dandelion possesses both choleretic and cholagogue action, and is thus 'one of the most useful plants for treating liver disease'. It is employed in jaundice, cholecystitis (inflammation of the gall-bladder) and cholelithiasis (stones in the gall-bladder or bile duct); it is also helpful in the early stages of cirrhosis. Taken several times a day as a tonic, it is considered to be without peer in aiding recovery from hepatitis.
Dandelion stimulates the liver to detoxify poisons and, in this capacity, it serves as a 'blood purifier'. Much of its beneficial action on the liver and blood is due to its high content of easily-assimilated minerals and vitamins.
Dandelion also exhibits a tonifying action on the stomach, intestines, spleen, pancreas, kidneys and bladder. It is an excellent bitter tonic which stimulates appetite and improves digestion; it is a mild laxative useful in chronic constipation; it is a very safe and effective diuretic, helpful in cases of oedema or fluid retention; it also helps to eliminate cholesterol and uric acid.
With its wide range of therapeutic action, Dandelion forms an important part of many herbal formulas used for liver ailments, skin conditions, sluggish digestion, rheumatism, gout, constipation, arteriosclerosis, circulation disturbances and cellulite.
The roots, dried, cut and roasted, provide a well-known coffee substitute, for which purpose they are often combined with chicory roots. (In this form, however, the plant loses much of its therapeutic action.) The young leaves can be eaten fresh as a salad vegetable.
A course of Dandelion treatment (3 cups per day of the infusion for a month or so) makes a good 'spring tonic' that tones the whole body.

Cautionary Notes: Dandelion is considered safe to use in large amounts, but some caution should be exercised in collecting wild plants to ensure that they are free from herbicides and pollutants.

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HERBAL

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