Dandelion

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale L. Weber ex F.H. Wigg.) roots were traditionally used in folk medicine worldwide due
to its antidiabetic, choleretic, antirheumatic and diuretic properties. The aim of the current study was to determinate
the biologically active substances in 95% ethanol and subsequent water extracts from dandelion roots and to evaluate
their antioxidant activities. The carbohydrate composition was analyzed by the resorcinol assay, TLC and HPLC-RID
methods. The total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoids (TF) and total dihydroxycinnamic derivatives contents
were determined by Folin–Ciocalteau method, aluminium chloride colorimetric assay and Arnow’s reagent,
respectively. In vitro antioxidant activities of the extracts were estimated using ferric-reducing/antioxidant power
(FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assays. In spring harvested dandelion roots the
total fructan content were established to be in range 17-19 % dw. The low molecular carbohydrate fraction presented
by glucose, fructose, sucrose, 1-kestose and nystose dominated in 95 % ethanol extracts. The subsequent water extracts
demonstrated the highest inulin content (12% dw), while TPC, TF and total dihydroxycinnamic derivatives contents
were reported to be 9.2 mg GAE/g, 1.7 mg QE/g and 13.7 mg chlorogenic acid derivates/g dw, respectively. These
extracts showed the highest antioxidant activity for both the DPPH (82.1 mM TE/g) and FRAP (52.9 mg mM TE/g)
assays. Therefore, the subsequent water extracts possessed the highest antioxidant capacity, which positively correlated
with the phenolic content. The results of current investigation demonstrate that dandelion root is a valuable source of
dietary fibers and natural antioxidants and could be successfully used in foods with the potential to improve digestion
and prevent from oxidative stress related diseases.

This paper is about symbolics and historical culinary use of Taraxacum (dandelion) plant - all parts of it. The paper includes a story, historical names, many culinary recipes, coloured photographs and archive illustrations. It also explains the etymology of diverse names of the genus.
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Editor:
Slow Food Dolny Śląsk
community in the SlowFood-com International network
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Full paper is available HERE:
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The current research is dedicated to following the accumulation of prebiotics inulin and fructooligosaccharides in the roots of Bulgarian medicinal plants common chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Web.) and meadow salsify (Tragopogon pratensis L.) in some areas of the Bulgaria for a period of two years. The roots of each plant were subjected to exhausting ethanol and subsequent water extraction. The contents of inulin-type fructans in the obtained extracts have been determined by a spectrophotometric method based on resorcinol reaction and TLC analysis. It has been found that the amounts of fructooligosaccharides and inulin were the highest in roots of the plants collected in the autumn season as in taproots of common chicory reached to 23 g/100 g dw and up to 34 g/100 g d.w in dandelion roots, respectively. The underground parts of the studied medicinal plants collected in the spring have been characterized by very high levels of fructo-oligosaccharides and sugars. Meadow salsify showed relatively constant levels of fructans in its taproots (18 g/100g d.w).
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