Useful properties of dandelion root and its use in folk medicine

Traditional medicine for a long time attached great importance to dandelion, which was considered the source of the elixir of life. The name of this plant has Greek roots and means "to soothe." It was in this direction that it was used by ancient healers. In addition, dandelion has a rare tonic properties. This plant was also used in cooking. Hot and cold dishes were prepared from it. A dandelion was used to make a drink that tasted like coffee. Nowadays, gardeners of many countries grow this plant as a cultural one, paying the most serious attention to it.

The healing properties of dandelion allow using it in recipes of traditional medicine. This perennial herb is a representative of the family Compositae. All parts of the dandelion contain dense milky juice, which has a bitter taste. The fruit of the plant is a seed with a feather, which is located on the stem, reaching a height of twenty to thirty centimeters. The root of the dandelion is unbranched and long. The plant blooms from the last days of May to August.

The raw material, which is used in the manufacture of medicinal products, is the roots, as well as the aerial part. The preparation of a medicinal plant is made in different periods. Roots are excavated in autumn after withering leaves or in the spring before the beginning of flowering. The above-ground part is cut at the end of May. It is suitable as a medicinal raw material only at the beginning of flowering.

Useful properties of the dandelion root are determined by the list of useful substances in it. This part of the plant contains taraxacin and triterpene compounds, taraxasterol and sterols, flavonoids and inulin, fatty oil and rubber, carotene and proteins, organic acids and sucrose. Accumulate in it resins and copper, selenium and zinc. The aerial part of the healing plant is used as a source of saponins and protein, vitamins A and C, as well as B2 and nicotinic acid. The leaves are rich in phosphorus and have calcium, iron and manganese in their composition.

Useful properties of the root of dandelion, as well as its leaves have long been used in alternative medicine. The plant is able to exert choleretic and anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic and diuretic, antipyretic and expectorant action. It is used as an anthelmintic and laxative, as well as an antisclerotic and antiallergic agent. The use of dandelion promotes the excitement of the appetite, the improvement of the skin condition and the normalization of general well-being.

Useful properties of dandelion root, which are used to eliminate inflammation, increase sweating and reduce temperature, are due to triterpene compounds, as well as resinous and mucus substances that make up its composition. Bitterness, contained in a healing plant, increases appetite and improves digestion. This is due to their choleretic ability, as well as the possibility of increasing the secretion of gastric juice.

Useful properties of the root of a dandelion, the use of which contributes to the expectoration of sputum, is also due to the presence of bitterness in its composition. Beta and stigmasterol, which belong to glycerides of fatty unsaturated acids, produce an antisclerotic effect, removing harmful cholesterol from the body and clearing the blood of toxins.

As a preventive measure for various diseases, as well as for medicinal purposes, use is made of dandelion tincture, as well as decoctions, teas and powders. Early spring is sometimes recommended the use of juice from the leaves of a medicinal plant.