Taraxacum officinale herb health benefit, also known as dandelion herb

Chrysanthemum, dandelion, and mugwort belong to the Compositae (Asteraceae) family. Chrysanthemum and dandelion were frequently cosensitized with mugwort in the general population with respiratory allergic diseases.

Taraxacum officinale benefit
Taraxacum officinale contains anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities through its inhibition of NO production and COX-2 expression and/or its antioxidative activity.

Taraxacum officinale  and cancer
Evaluation of aqueous extracts of Taraxacum officinale on growth and invasion of breast and prostate cancer cells.
Int J Oncol. 2008 May; Sigstedt SC, Hooten CJ, Callewaert MC, Jenkins AR, Romero AE, Pullin MJ, Kornienko A, Lowrey TK, Slambrouck SV, Steelant WF.
Laboratory of Biochemical and Biomedical Research, Department of Chemistry, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801, USA.
Plants of the genus Taraxacum, commonly known as dandelions, have a history of use in Chinese, Arabian and Native American traditional medicine, to treat a variety of diseases including cancer. To date, however, very few studies have been reported on the anti-carcinogenic activity of Taraxacum officinale. In the present study, three aqueous extracts were prepared from the mature leaves, flowers and roots, and investigated on tumor progression related processes such as proliferation and invasion. Our results show that the crude extract of Taraxacum officinale leaf decreased the growth of MCF-7/AZ breast cancer cells in an ERK-dependent manner, whereas the aqueous extracts of Taraxacum officinale flower and root had no effect on the growth of either cell line. Furthermore, Taraxacum officinale root was found to block invasion of MCF-7/AZ breast cancer cells while Taraxacum officinale leaf blocked the invasion of LNCaP prostate cancer cells, into collagen type I. This study provides new scientific data on TO and suggests that Taraxacum officinale extracts or individual components present in the extracts may be of value as novel anti-cancer agents.

Cholesterol, lipids
Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Root and Leaf on Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits.
Int J Mol Sci. 2010 Jan 6; Pohang Center for Evaluation of Biomaterials, Pohang 790-834, Korea;
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), an oriental herbal medicine, has been shown to favorably affect choleretic, antirheumatic and diuretin properties. Recent reports have indicated that excessive oxidative stress contributes to the development of atherosclerosis-linked metabolic syndrome. The objective of this current study was to investigate the possible hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects of dandelion root and leaf in rabbits fed with a high-cholesterol diet. A group of twenty eight male rabbits was divided into four subgroups; a normal diet group, a high-cholesterol diet group, a high-cholesterol diet with 1% (w/w) dandelion leaf group, and a high-cholesterol diet with 1% (w/w) dandelion root group. After the treatment period, the plasma antioxidant enzymes and lipid profiles were determined. Our results show that treatment with dandelion root and leaf positively changed plasma antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid profiles in cholesterol-fed rabbits, and thus may have potential hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects. Dandelion root and leaf could protect against oxidative stress linked atherosclerosis and decrease the atherogenic index.

Lutein in Taraxacum officinale herb
Lutein epoxide has been isolated from petals of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale F. Weber ex Wiggers)

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