Western Bulk Herbs – Dandelion Leaf

Dandelion leaf releases bile from the liver into the gallbladder by stimulated it. Dandelion is also used for liver and gallbladder disorders and helps the release of bile to breakdown steroid hormones. Dandelion leaf is one of the best herbals causing increased flow of urine. It replaces the potassium loss with the loss increased flow of urine.

Dandelion is just your everyday garden-variety healthy herb that people pass by everyday believing it’s just a ‘weed’. Chock full of vitamins and minerals, dandelion was a popular plant for foraging and still keeps its place in the more open-minded of salads. Be sure to watch out for dandelions that have absorbed toxins if harvesting from an urban environment.

Latin Name:
Taraxacum officinale

Common Names:
Dandelion, Blowball, Lion’s Tooth, Cankerwort, Common Dandelion, Dandelion Herb, Leontodon taracum, Lion’s Tooth, Pissenlit, Priest’s Crown, Swine Snout, Taraxaci herba, Taraxacum vulgare, Wild Endive.

Parts Used:
The whole leaf, dried, and cut.

Properties:
Diuretic, tonic and slightly aperient.

Traditional Uses:
Tea or tincture, and sometimes in capsules

Topical Uses / Applications:

Culinary Uses:
Used in salad, stew, soups, and can be added to stir-fry vegetables or fruit.

Chemical Properties:
Sizable levels of vitamins A, C, D, and B complex as well as iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, manganese, copper, choline, calcium, boron, and silicon. Plus bitter taraxacins (eudesmanolides), sitosterol, stigmasterol, alpha- and beta-carotene, caffeic acid, mucilage, and an unusually high potassium content.

Cautions:
GRAS: Generally Recognized As Safe. This herb can be safely consumed when used appropriately.

Folk Lore:
One of the best secrets of magic lore is using dandelions to repel witches if they gather on Midsummer’s Eve. According to magic lore they will increase your psychic ability and divination when used in a tea. Good and bad luck are attributed to dandelions such as bad luck if you pick them in a cemetery and terrible luck if you bring them home or give them to someone. It’s always good luck to have a few tucked into your wedding bouquet.

*Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Resources:
PDR for Herbal Medicines, 2000. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, New Jersey.

The New Holistic Herbal. David Hoffmann, 1990. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.

A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve, (Dover Publications, New York, 1971)

Major Herbs of Ayurvedic.Compiled by Dahur Research Foundation and Dahur Ayurvet Limited, Ghaziabad, India., 2002. Churchill Livingstone, London, England.

Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition, Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble, 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle, WA.