Leontodon taraxacum L.; T. campylodes G.E.Haglund; T. vulgare (Lam.) Schrank Asteraceae (Compositae) Lion’s tooth; piss-a-bed Taraxaci radix cum herba; Taraxaci radix T. mongolicum is used in Chinese medicine. Root and herb The root and leaf contain sesquiterpene lactones, the eudesmanolides taraxinic acid, dihydrotaraxinic acid, taraxacoside and taraxacolide; sterols including taraxasterol and β-taraxasterol; flavonoids such as luteolin and quercetin, the caffeic acid derivatives chlorogenic and cichoric acids, and coumarins including cichoriin and aesculin. Carotenoids and vitamin A are also present, and in the root, oligosaccharides (EMA 2009a; Schütz et al. 2006; Williamson et al. 2013). Clinical studies for the use of dandelion are lacking. A pilot study assessing the diuretic effect of an ethanolic extract of the leaf in 17 healthy volunteers was carried out over a single day. The extract increased the frequency of urination and excretion ratio of fluids and showed promise, but further studies are needed to support this indication (Clare et al. 2009). A Cochrane review on the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines including T. mongolicum for sore throat concluded that a meta-analysis was not possible due to the low quality of the studies. One non-blinded study (50 participants) found that the combination of ‘compound dandelion soup’ with sodium penicillin was more effective than sodium penicillin alone for acute purulent tonsillitis (Huang et al. 2012).
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale aggr. F.H.Wigg., T. mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.
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