Dandelion a diuretic and treatment for cirrhosis
Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale or sometimes T. vulgare, are well known to everybody, although I am surprised to find that it has a number of other names: blowball, cankerwort, lion’s tooth, priest’s crown, puffball, swine snout, white endive and wild endive. Most gardeners will probably loathe them, because their wind-blown seed plants itself all over the garden, and if you don’t spot it early enough, the long tap root makes it a difficult weed to eradicate – and here I am, telling you to cultivate the things!
When I was a child, there was a tale amongst us kids that picking a dandelion would make you wet the bed – which may be why the French call it “Piss-en-lit” – but that didn’t stop us picking dandelion clocks (the seed heads), trying our best to get the ones that were intact, and then blowing the seeds off to see what time it was – probably the most inaccurate clock in the world!
In my last garden, I did my level best to pick the flowers off any dandelions in the area before they went to seed, for obvious reasons, and if you’re going to grow them for use either in the kitchen or for medicine, you will have to do this as well. Alternatively, you could harvest your crop from any nearby bit of waste ground – it’s sure to have plenty.
Dandelion leaves are amazingly good for you as food. 100g of the raw leaves contain about 2.7g protein, 9.2g carbohydrate, 187mg Calcium, 66mg phosphorus, 3.1mg iron, 76mg sodium, 397mg potassium, 36mg magnesium, 14000iu vitamin A, 0.19mg vitamin B1, 0.26mg vitamin B2 and 35mg vitamin C according to Native Edible Plants of New Zealand by A. Crowe. They are pretty bitter, but chopped up and mixed with other salad leaves will provide an interesting contrast. You can make them less bitter by blanching them (exclude light from the plant for a couple of weeks), although this will also lessen the nutritional value. Don’t blanch plants if you want to use them for medicine.
Medicinally, dandelion’s main use is for disorders of the digestive system; it’s a diuretic (hence piss-en-lit, which means wet the bed), laxative and tonic which stimulates the gallbladder. It can be used to treat jaundice and cirrhosis of the liver. For all these purposes a standard infusion made from 3 handfuls of fresh leaves or 30g (1 ounce) of dried to 570ml (2.1/2 US cups, 1 UK pint) of boiling water, allowed to stand for between 10 minutes and 4 hours before straining can be used or alternatively, a decoction made by simmering 15g (half an ounce) of dried root (30g/1 ounce of fresh) in 570ml (2.1/2 US cups, 1 UK pint) of water until the liquid is reduced by half. In either case, the dosage is 75ml (1/3 US cup, 3 fl oz) up to 3 times a day.
The standard infusion may also be used once cool as a wash for pimples and similar skin conditions, although the white latex which oozes from the plant when cut can also be used neat. Test this on an area such as the inside of the elbow and leave for 24 hours before applying to the face, as it can cause irritation in some individuals.
As with all herbs grown for medicinal use, dandelions should be grown organically to avoid the active constituents becoming diluted or eliminated by foreign chemicals. To find out more about growing organic dandelions visit the Gardenzone.
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August 19th, 2009 at 05:08
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February 12th, 2010 at 18:39
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