Medicinal Properties Of Medicinal Dandelion

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Roadside dandelion

Was like the sun golden, But faded and became like

fluffy white smoke …"

Vladimir Stepanov

There is probably not a single person who has not seen and does not know what an

ordinary dandelion is, also called

medicinal dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). This perennial plant up to 30-40 cm high belongs to the Astrovye family.

You can meet a dandelion in our country almost everywhere, except for the Far North and desert regions. It grows in meadows, pastures, roadsides, on forest edges, in ravines, near people's homes and in vegetable gardens.

Gardeners and gardeners, and all agricultural workers consider the dandelion a weed plant that populates crops of cultivated plants, especially a lot of it happens in pastures - at the beginning of summer it seems that it was specially planted there - in the eyes it is dazzled by a multitude of bright yellow flowers. Attempts to remove the dandelion from the site with your hands do not lead to success - the rosette of leaves with flowers remains in your hands, but the root breaks off with a crunch. This means that after a while a sun flower will appear in this place again. Everything is explained by the fact that the root of a dandelion is pivotal and quite long - half a meter or more.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

In the spring, a rosette of juicy oblong-lanceolate leaves first appears on the surface of the earth, and then the plant drives up its peduncle, hollow inside, at the end of which a basket is formed up to five centimeters in diameter with bright yellow flowers opening to the sun.

Dandelions bloom in May-June, at this time bees and bumblebees hover over the flowers in abundance. After pollination and the end of flowering, the dandelion turns from a yellow flower into a fluffy ball, which is formed from many achenes with a bunch of fine hairs.

They are not very firmly attached to the receptacle, and therefore, after ripening, they are easily torn off by a gust of wind and carried around. There are a lot of seeds in each such ball, and therefore the dandelion spreads quite easily and quickly. Gardeners on their site mowed dandelions, did not allow them to form seeds, and the wind brought them from a neighboring garden. Therefore, there is never a shortage of this beautiful, light plant.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

Dandelions have one peculiarity. All its parts are saturated with bitter milky juice. Anyone who tries to chew a leaf, green flower stalk or root can be convinced of this. But experienced gardeners are not discouraged by this bitterness, they know that young dandelion leaves and its inflorescences are useful in spring, they are saturated with vitamins C, A, B2, E, PP, and other substances necessary for the body, and therefore they collect young leaves, soak them for half an hour in three percent a solution of table salt at room temperature and used in vitamin salads.

The rich chemical composition of this plant also explains its other use - medicinal, and it is no coincidence that it has such a name - medicinal dandelion.

Dandelion roots contain triterpene compounds, sterols, choline, nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, rubber, resins, wax, inulin, organic acids (oleanolic, linoleic, palmitic) and other substances.

Dandelion leaves and inflorescences, in addition to the vitamins mentioned above, contain choline, saponins, salts of manganese, iron, calcium, phosphorus.

Dandelion medicinal properties

Dandelion is a medicinal plant that contains bitterness. Its preparations are used to stimulate appetite and improve digestion.

Biologically active substances of medicinal dandelion also have choleretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, laxative properties.

That is why dandelion preparations or its fresh roots are used in scientific medicine to stimulate appetite, improve the secretory and motor activity of the stomach and intestines, increase bile secretion and secretion of the digestive glands.

In pharmacies, dry roots of medicinal dandelion packaged in 50 g are sold. With their help, doctors recommend preparing and taking medicinal decoctions.

Dandelion decoction

To obtain it, you need to take 10 g (1 tablespoon) of dry raw materials, place it in an enamel bowl and pour 200 ml (1 glass) of hot boiled water. Then close the dish with a lid and heat in a boiling water bath with frequent stirring for 15 minutes. Cool the broth at room temperature for 45 minutes. Then the liquid is filtered, the remaining raw materials are squeezed out. The volume of the resulting broth is brought to the original (200 ml) with boiled water. This broth can be stored in a cool place for no more than two days.

It is recommended to take the broth inside in a warm form - 50-70 ml (1/3 cup) 3-4 times a day 15 minutes before meals.

This herbal remedy has a choleretic and sokogonny effect (bitterness), increases appetite.

In folk medicine, the range of application of dandelion medicinal preparations is much wider. In it, the whole dandelion plant is harvested and used for medicinal purposes. Leaves and flowers are stored during flowering, and the roots are dug up in autumn and early spring.

The aerial part of the dandelion is dried in a thin layer in the shade under awnings, in ventilated attics, from time to time the raw material is turned over so that it does not become moldy.

After digging, the roots wither a little, shake off the adhering earth, and then send them to dryers with a temperature not higher than 50 ° C. The dried roots can be stored in a cool dry place for up to five years.

Traditional healers recommend using dandelion for the treatment of hepatitis, cholecystitis, gallstone disease, jaundice, gastritis, colitis, cystitis, for constipation, flatulence, and also as an antihelminthic agent.

Fresh leaves and leaf juice are used to treat atherosclerosis, skin diseases, vitamin deficiency, anemia.

Dandelion juice

It is prepared in early spring when the leaves of this plant are especially juicy and green. They are collected away from roads and industrial enterprises, washed thoroughly in water, shaken off moisture, then chopped with a knife. Place the chopped leaves in a colander and scald with boiling water. After that, the softened leaves are charged into a meat grinder and passed through it. From the resulting mass, carefully squeeze the juice through cheesecloth.

Then the squeezed juice is diluted with the same amount of cold boiled water and put on fire. After boiling, keep on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Take 1-2 tablespoons of chilled juice three times a day 20 minutes before meals. The resulting juice can be stored in a cold place for no more than 2-3 days.

It is used as a choleretic agent for diseases of the liver and gallbladder. It also has properties that strengthen the body. This juice is also useful for stomach inflammation with low acidity. It is also used as a mild laxative for chronic constipation.

Infusion or tea of medicinal dandelion

To prepare it, you need to take one teaspoon of crushed dry dandelion roots and pour them with a glass of boiling water (200 ml). Insist until the liquid cools down, then strain it. Take this infusion three times a day half an hour before meals for a quarter of a glass. It stimulates urination, helps the body to cleanse itself of toxins in the liver, kidneys, and bladder. Infusion helps in the absence of appetite, and also reduces blood cholesterol. Dandelion tea is also used as a natural laxative.

Dandelion root decoction

To prepare such a decoction, you need to take five tablespoons of dandelion roots and pour them in a saucepan with one liter of boiling water. Put the saucepan on the fire, bring the liquid to a boil and simmer under a lid over low heat for twenty minutes. Then cool the broth and strain. Take it warm three times a day one hour before meals, half a glass. It is an effective choleretic agent. It is also used for gastritis, jaundice, and also for insomnia.

Dandelion jam has many beneficial properties. It is popularly called honey, because in its finished form it really resembles in color and consistency liquid, for example, spring flower honey.

Dandelion honey

To prepare it you need: collect 300 g of flower baskets of dandelions, take two glasses of water, one lemon, one kilogram of sugar.

Separate the dandelion flowers from the stalks and green rosettes, rinse the flowers thoroughly and dry on a towel. After that 300 of these flowers, place a saucepan and pour half of water (1 glass), put on fire. Bring to a boil and simmer for three minutes.

In the resulting broth add lemon, peeled and chopped into small pieces. Infuse the broth for a third of the day (night).

Then boil the syrup from the remaining water and sugar. Thoroughly strain the infusion of dandelion and lemon flowers, squeeze the flowers and lemon and pour the liquid into the sugar syrup. Put the saucepan on fire, bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour. Pour ready honey - amber thick liquid into sterilized jars and roll up.

Dandelion honey is very tasty and useful for adults and children, because it contains many biologically active substances. Honey is recommended to be taken to prevent colds, bronchitis, to strengthen the immune system. It is necessary to take it for this purpose, two tablespoons, washed down with water. It will help strengthen the body when a flu epidemic begins.

Dandelion honey is also considered a medicine for the liver. It cleanses the blood, restores liver cells, frees it from accumulated waste and toxins. To cleanse the liver, it is recommended to take this honey on an empty stomach one tablespoon at a time, dissolving in a glass of green tea or milk thistle tea.

Contraindications

Reception of medicinal dandelion preparations is contraindicated in hyperacid gastritis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer with increased acidity of gastric juice, as well as with a person's predisposition to diarrhea.

Anatoly Petrov

Photo by E. Valentinov