Dandelions

Eastern Deciduous Forest, Tall Grass Prairie

Dandelion 

  Taraxacum officinale

http://www.conservationwatcher.com/dandelion.jpg

Habitat: pastures, lawns, fields, waste places, sand, rocks, cracks in concrete

Blooms: June-October 

Active Chemical Ingredients:
 
The chief constituents of Dandelion root are:

• Taraxacin
• acrystalline
• Taraxacerin, an acrid resin
• Inulin (a sort of sugar which replaces starch in many of the Dandelion family, Compositae), 
• The root contains no starch, but early in the year contains much uncrystallizable sugar and laevulin, which differs from Inulin in being soluble in cold water. 
• This diminishes in quantity during the summer and becomes Inulin in the autumn. The root may contain as much as 24 per cent. 
• In the fresh root, the Inulin is present in the cell-sap, but in the dry root it occurs as an amorphodus, transparent solid, which is only slightly soluble in cold water, but soluble in hot water.

Inulin: C₆H₁₁O₅(C₆H₁₀O₅)_nOH http://www.newdruginfo.com/pharmacopeia/usp28/v28230/usp28nf23s0_m41020.htm  used to treat constipation

• Whole plant
• Sesquiterpene lactones (C₁₅H₂₄. It may be used as an antiseptic, antibacterial, or antinflammatory and as a calming agent by aromatherapists)
• Triterpenes
• Vitamins A, B, C and D

• Leaf Only
• Coumarins
• carotenoids
• Minerals (especially Postassium)

• Root Only
• Taraxacoside
• Phenolic acids
• Minerals (potassium, calcium) 

Parts Uses: leaves, flower, plant, root

Use of Specimen:

• Treatment of Constipation, (as a tonic, docotion, or extract) Gentle Laxitive (root)
•  Leaves (poultice or wash) used for swellings 
• Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Antiviral (poultice, infusion of root (internal), or as sap (external))
• Helps with swollen ankles (infusion , take 500ml daily)
• dermatitis as a tonic

Procedures:
Decoction :Use 1 to 3 teaspoons of chopped dandelion root per cut of water, adjusting for taste. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer in covered saucepan for 10 to 20 minutes. Drink 1 to 2 cups daily as a general tonic.
Infusion: steep 1 tbsp. leaves in 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes.  Take 1 cup a day.

Resources:

• Foster, S., & Duke, J. (2014). A field guide to medicinal plants and herbs of eastern and central North America (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
   

• Dandelion. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2015, from http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dandel08.html 

• Sesquiterpene. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2015, from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sesquiterpene