Taraxacum officinale (G.H. Weber ex Wiggers), commonly known as dandelion, is a perennial plant belonging to the family Asteraceae and is an herb native to North America, Europe, and Asia. Dandelion represents a promising source for the prevention and treatment of health conditions.

Dandelion has been used for health purposes since ancient times. The young leaves of dandelion are thought to be so nutritious that they are often used as food in salads, drinks, and dishes. Notably, dandelion has even more diverse medicinal properties due to the phytochemicals found in its flowers, leaves, stems, and roots, such as carotenoids, flavonoids (such as quercetin, chrysoeriol, and luteolin-7-glucoside), polysaccharides (such as inulin), phenolic acids (such as caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and chicory acid), sesquiterpene lactones (such as taraxinic acid, taraxacoside, and taraxacolide-O-β-glucopyranoside), sterols (such as taraxerol, β-sitosterol, and stigmasterol), and so on. They are all responsible for the medicinal properties of dandelion.

Scientists searched the PubMed database for the main medicinal properties of dandelion. Twelve therapeutic properties of dandelion were found to be commonly reported in the scientific literature, and these included diuretic, hepatoprotective, anticolitis, immunoprotective, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, antiarthritic, antidiabetic, antiobesity, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. Among these, the most frequently reported therapeutic effects include hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and anticancer activities.

It is evident that Taraxacum officinale has a very important role in medicine.

Di Napoli, A., & Zucchetti, P. (2021). A comprehensive review of the benefits of Taraxacum officinale on human health. Bulletin of the National Research Centre, 45(1), 1-7. [Link]