Pharmacist - Formulist
Expert in phytotherapy
#Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion
Who is it?
“It grows everywhere, without pretensions, in meadows and streets of every country”. Be careful when you are in the countryside or walking next to the lawn of a residential area, more than one superhero may be there, waiting to be summoned.
This is the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a plant belonging to the composites, whose yellow flower is actually composed of many small flowers, joined together, numerous and close together, on the top of the stem. Similarly, like its flowers, the dandelion itself also seeks the company of its fellows, gathering in groups and in large numbers.
Its active parts are the root, mainly harvested in autumn, and the aerial parts.
The Superpowers
What are the capabilities of dandelion useful for dogs and cats? Its main functions, for which we ask for your help, are two: hepatic and diuretic.
How does this happen? Perhaps you know the dandelion by the name of Dandelion and observing it, you could see in that yellow hair the mane of a beast, ready to terrorize the enemies of animals.
Traditionally recognized as a diuretic, its purifying power on the liver is associated with the kidney, scaring off toxins and putting them to escape. Likewise, thanks to a laxative effect, its roar also drives out toxins from the intestine, as well as from the skin, increasing the secretion of sweat glands and sebaceous glands.
This lion, brave phytotherapeutic superhero, has cholagogue and choleretic activity, that is, it facilitates the contraction of the gallbladder and the secretion of bile acids, doing good for the gallbladder.
The dandelion therefore leaves its mark in cases of liver failure and for kidney stones, not to dissolve them, but acting as a preventive, as a guard fair.
It scratches, bites, roars, the Dandelion does not spare itself and having it as a friend is a precious thing.
In spring it is rich in sugars and in autumn it reaches 40% inulin, acting as a prebiotic, thus supporting the good saprophytes, the positive bacterial flora. It has many enzymes and also potassium, aids in digestion, lowers cholesterol and is good for those with osteoarthritis. But be careful, with ferocious creatures you need to be careful: the latex in dandelions can be irritating.
How do you find the forces to act this plant? Its capabilities derive from the presence of triterpenes, phytosterols, carotenes, xanthophylls, flavonoids and caffeic acid.
Where to find it
You will have guessed that the dandelion is a legendary superhero and for this reason it is present and important in our FORZA10 Legend Digestion . However, its active ingredients are also required in the Renal Active , both for dogs and cats , in the Urinary Active for cats and their correspondents, in the form of wet food, of the Actiwet line .
Businesses
You know by now that the dandelion is a superhero that inspires fear in its enemies. You do not know, however, that for this reason, and for its diuretic properties, it acquired the nickname of piscialetto, derived from the French piss en lit.
Due to the need to purify itself after the winter, dandelion was and is also used in the preparation of salads, which made it one of the first nutraceuticals. It is also used in the preparation of herbal teas.
This very widespread plant, a real weed, has however, perhaps also for this reason, always been neglected at the officinal level, although recognized by popular tradition. Only in modern times has it obtained the confirmation of phytotherapy. For this reason, the writer Cattorini even composed an Ode to dandelion, quoted at the beginning.
However, to those who paint him as a ferocious superhero, the dandelion responds with its deep bond with children. After closing in on itself during the night, it reopens during the day to allow them to play and have fun, letting them blow off its flower and use its stem as a trumpet. When the dandelion reaches maturity, its flower, the mane, which was first firmly united, in fact lets itself fly away with a single breath of wind. Precisely for this reason it is indicated above all as a shower head, rather than with its real name. In fact, its seeds, with a parachute attached, separate from their brothers, and let themselves fly away, elsewhere, in order to spread and give other life.
