Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Ethnopharmacology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jep

Review

Taraxacum ofcinale and related speciesAn ethnopharmacological

review and its potential as a commercial medicinal plant
M. Martinez a,b, P. Poirrier a,b, R. Chamy b,n, D. Prfer c,d, C. Schulze-Gronover d,
L. Jorquera a,b, G. Ruiz a,b
a
Escuela de Ingeniera Bioqumica (School of Biochemical Engineering), Facultad de Ingeniera (Faculty of Engineering), Ponticia Universidad Catlica de
Valparaso (Pontical Catholic University of Valparaso), General Cruz 34, Valparaso, Chile
b
Fraunhofer Chile Research Foundation Center for Systems Biotechnology (FCR CSB), Mariano Snchez Fontecilla 310, of 1401, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
c
Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Mnster, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Schlossplatz 8, D-48143 Mnster, Germany
d
Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Schlossplatz 8, D-48143 Mnster, Germany

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Dandelion (Taraxacum spec) is a wild plant that has been used for
Received 5 May 2014 centuries as a traditional medicine in the relief and treatment of several diseases. This use is due to the
Received in revised form presence of sesquiterpenes, saponins, phenolic compounds, avonoids, and sugars, among others, found
11 March 2015
in the organs of the plant.
Accepted 12 March 2015
Available online 6 April 2015
Aim of the study: The aim of this work is to provide a current review of developments and trends in
research on the Taraxacum genus, with a focus on traditional uses and pharmacological properties. This
Keywords: should shed light on the potential of this plant as an attractive commercial herbal medicine.
Ailments Materials and methods: Documents were collected, analyzed, and classied for information regarding
Ethnopharmacological
medical, agronomic, genetic, and biological aspects of the Taraxacum species. This process was based on a
Phenolics
thorough search of documents indexed by scientic search engines.
Sesquiterpenes
Taraxacum Results: Two important periods of research on Taraxacum have been identied: the rst, between 1930
and 1950; and the second, from 1990 to today. During the former, agricultural and genetics research on
this plant were, due to the shortage of natural rubber, the focus. In contrast, the main drive in Taraxacum
research is now the recovery of bioactives and/or applications in medicine.
Pharmacology is the main area in which these plants have been tested, thanks in part to its widely known
traditional uses; however, there is less than enthusiastic interest in further human clinical trials. In other areas,
Taraxacum sports an enormous list of compounds of industrial interest; and while it is true that only a small
amount of these compounds is immediately available in Taraxacum organs and makes it relatively
commercially unattractive, only scarce efforts have been made to improve yields. Compounding this issue,
most studies of its growth and cultivation have been focused mainly on controlling it as a weed detrimental to
certain industrial crops. To wit, in spite of all the research carried out, less than 1% of all the species identied so
far (42500) have been studied (including Taraxacum ofcinale, Taraxacum coreanum, Taraxacum mongolicum
and Taraxacum platycarpum). This is a indication of the little knowledge that we have about this genus so far.
Biotechnology (involving genetics, agriculture, and biology) is the most powerful means by which to take
advantage of all the medicinal potential of Taraxacum. Great strides have been made in identifying metabolic
pathways for synthesizing terpenes, one of the most important compound families in clinical applications. In
order to improve yield and performance of the plant in the eld, greenhouse cultivation is another aspect taken
into account, deriving an increase in recovery of bioactives from Taraxacum organs. Even while considering that
only a few species have been studied, their different biochemical and cultivation proles indicate huge potential
for qualitative improvements in composition through genetic engineering, thus directly impacting pharmaco-
logical properties.

n
Corresponding author at: Escuela de Ingeniera Bioqumica, Facultad de Ingeniera, Ponticia Universidad Catlica de Valparaso, General Cruz 34, Valparaso, Chile.
Tel.: 56 32 2273640.
E-mail address: rchamy@ucv.cl (R. Chamy).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.03.067
0378-8741/& 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262 245

Conclusions: Taraxacum is has been traditionally considered a natural remedy, well-inserted into popular
knowledge, but with low commercial applicability. Only once the recovery of pure and highly reactive
compounds can be pursued at (a qualitatively and quantitatively attractive) economical scale, human clinical
trials would be of interest in order to prove their efcacy and safety, positioning Taraxacum as an important
commercial source of natural drugs.
& 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
3. Results and discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
3.1. Importance of Taraxacum in scientic literature: a view of almost two centuries of knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
3.2. Taraxacum nutritional composition and bioactive compounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
3.3. Pharmacological properties and uses of Taraxacum: a traditional and scientic approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
3.4. Biotechnological research on Taraxacum for improvement of its potential as an herbal medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
3.4.1. Agronomy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
3.4.2. Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
3.4.3. Genetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
3.5. Main perspectives on Taraxacum species as a medicinal plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
3.5.1. Selection of species for further studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
3.5.2. Bioactive compounds identication on raw extracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
3.5.3. Pharmacological research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
3.5.4. Biotechnology research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
4. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

1. Background authors turned from relying in traditional knowledge to nd

The World Health Organization (WHO, 1977) has indicated that a
"medicine plant" is any plant in which one or more of their organs
contain substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or may
be used as precursors in the synthesis of other drugs. This denition
distinguishes plants whose constituents and therapeutic properties
have been scientically established from the plants that, despite
being regarded as medicinal, have not been scientically studied yet.
Among these, dandelion (Taraxacum spec) is a wild medicinal plant
with over 2500 species reported (Kirschner and Stepanek, 1994).
Some of these species are highly invasive and distributed worldwide
as Taraxacum ofcinale and Taraxacum erythrospermum, but only
small proportion of them is scientically studied nowadays.
At rst, its use was instinctive and derived from popular
knowledge and experience. The rst evidence of its therapeutic
use is in the Arabian medicine in the X and XI centuries to treat
diseases of the liver and spleen. Fuchs in 1543 already described
its use to medicate gout, diarrhea, blister, spleen and liver
complaints (Schtz et al., 2006). Since the XIX century, several
scientic explanations related to the mode of action of Taraxacum
against diseases and their symptoms. This included its use as
diuretic, antioxidant, cholagogue, anti-rheumatic, anti-allergic,
anti-inammatory, analgesic, anticoagulant, antibiotic, choleretic,
angiogenic and anti-carcinogen, among others.
One of the major advances in the understanding of how
Taraxacum has been useful as traditional medicine was the study
of its biochemical composition and the identication of several
bioactive compounds. The explanation of its composition and the
action mechanisms against diseases could allow to this herbal
traditional medicine establishing its potential as a commercial
herb. Many of its bioactive compounds have been studied on
different diseases both in vitro and in vivo, in order to support the
traditional use of Taraxacum and highlight the potential uses of
this plant. Several studies in other medicinal plants had demon-
strated that improvement on bioactive composition could be
achieved by environmental or genetic manipulation, making them
commercially attractive. Applied research in terms of biology,
genetics, and cultivation can be an important advantage when

Table 1
Classication of the research areas considered in this work related to Taraxacum.

Category Description

Pharmacology Documents that involve the traditional use of Taraxacum in treating symptoms or diseases in humans (ethnopharmacology) and the study of their
pharmacological properties in vitro and in vivo, reports on toxicity and cases of adverse reactions.
Composition Documents that involve the biochemical prole of Taraxacum, including compound identication and quantication.
Biology Documents that involve the biological development of Taraxacum and investigation on internal and external (environmental) factors on the plant
composition or its medicinal properties.
Genetics Documents related to the study of genetic factors or the effect of mutations on Taraxacum on the metabolic pathways affecting biochemical composition
of the plant.
Agronomy Documents that involve the characteristics of Taraxacum as a crop, and the effects of its handling and management on the synthesis of the bioactive
compounds.
Others General Taraxacum documents, mainly about its taxonomic identication and geographical distribution, and documents not included in the research
areas stated above. They are only considered for the statistical analysis.
246 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
improvements in medicinal properties of Taraxacum are consid-
ered. The aim of this work is to provide a current review on
developments and trends in the research carried on in Taraxacum
genus, focusing on the traditional uses and pharmacological
properties to establish the potential of this plant to be a commer-
cial herbal medicine.
2. Methodology
Relevant literature was collected using different scientic
databases in order to minimize the differences in publications
according to the proles of the journals indexed in each of them.
The following engines were considered: Scopus, Sciencedirect,
Pubmed, Wiley, Pubget, Worldcat, Nature, JSTOR, SpringerLink and
Medline. Gray literature (theses, patents, company reports, cross-
references and others) was also considered. In all cases the
keywords considered for the search were dandelion and Tarax-
acum. Documents available between 1827 and October 2014 were
classied in distinct research areas as mentioned in Table 1. If a
complete document was not available, its abstract and/or cross-
referenced title mentioned in other investigations were consid-
ered for statistical analysis, after evaluating the suitability of the
document.
Validation of plant names: The Plant List (a collaboration
between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical
Garden) (The Plant List, 2014) was used to validate plant scientic
names. This helped to identify misspellings, spelling variants,
invalid or illegitimate names and the use of synonyms for different
species. The species authorities in the text are omitted when
mentioned as part of statistics or in discussions and species names
are given as reported by the authors in the respective Tables, but
all the species names included in this work are presented with
their accepted names and synonyms in Section 3.5.1.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Importance of Taraxacum in scientic literature: a view of
almost two centuries of knowledge
The collected literature indicates that Taraxacum (Asteraceae,
subfamily Cichorioideae, tribe Lactuceae) is a plant that has been
the subject of scientic and non-scientic research for almost two
centuries, with more than two thousand articles cited so far. There
is an enormous research derived from academic investigation
(universities, government and non-government entities), and to
Fig. 1. Volume of documents associated with Taraxacum across the years, obtained through scientic search engines (at October 2014).
a lesser extent, applied research from industry in a more technical
and commercial approach. In this matter, academic research is
directly related to the medicinal aspects of dandelion through
theses and published articles involving biochemical characteriza-
tion and pharmacological studies, all which attempt to prove or
validate traditional knowledge on Taraxacum medicinal uses.
Applied research has been focused on the ability of this genus to
accumulate certain polymers of interest to the industry, as is the
case with natural rubber and inulin, especially in the 19301950s.
A complete prole of the literature by year is shown in Fig. 1 and
the distribution of literature according to established research
areas is shown in Fig. 2.
Considering the research areas established above, the volume
of investigations concerning the biochemical composition of
Taraxacum has increased signicantly since the 1950s in order to
establish its biochemical prole and prove its pharmacological
properties and mechanism of action scientically (Fig. 2a). Studies
on the biochemical composition of Taraxacum had the same
tendency as the agricultural research; between 1930 and 1950
only studies on isoprene and rubber composition were observed,
and to a lesser extent, research on inulin characterization was
performed (Krotkov, 1945; Whaley and Bowen, 1947). Once the
interest for natural rubber alternatives ended, this plant turned to
be of interest because of its content of terpenes (Atallah and
Nichols, 1971; Booth, 1964; Nitsche and Pleugel, 1972) and carbo-
hydrates (Gorham, 1946; Krotkov, 1950; Rafols, 1953). In the 1980s,
terpenes, phenolic compounds, avonoids and vitamins gained
importance due to the bioactive properties associated to them,
turning the research on Taraxacum toward its medicinal properties
and bioactive content. From this moment on, pharmacological
research associated with its biochemical prole has been the main
drive of the research regarding this genus.
Biological and genetic research also responded in part to a
market approach derived from an industrial use of Taraxacum. At
rst, morphology was the center of the investigation because the
scientic interest on the characterization of the genus. Later,
morphology and physiology were considered as criteria in 1930
1950s for breeding Taraxacum kok-saghyz plants with high rubber
content (Krotkov, 1945). Research on development and growth of
this Taraxacum species under controlled conditions (in vitro or
in vivo) was carried out to explain its germination, metabolism,
organogenesis and regeneration, and environmental effects on
compounds synthesis or its accumulation in order to improve
rubber synthesis and extraction. After this objective was left aside
by commercial limitations in natural rubber trade, this work was
the basis for considering Taraxacum as a bioactive farm for
medicinal compounds recuperation, as we can observe in the
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
research that is carried on these days. Research on genetics was
focused mainly in determining Taraxacum ploydies, hybridization
and reproduction systems, involving karyological and cytological
studies. This research was strongly used as a breeding tool for
obtaining species with high rubber content and with better eld
yields (Krotkov, 1945). Nowadays, Taraxacum genus has been
widely investigated as a model group for the analysis of embry-
ological, genetic and molecular aspects of apomictic mechanisms
(Richards, 1996; van Dijk et al., 2009), while a minor amount of
research is being carried out for the improvement on the bio-
synthesis of bioactive compounds.
In the pharmacological aspect, a considerable amount of
studies (in vitro and in vivo) can be considered as a preliminary
step to support folk medicinal uses of this genus. Ethnopharma-
cological information mostly comes from oral history and requires
scientic validation by clinical trials to support it. Until now,
research regarding the biological activity of Taraxacum genus does
not have enough clear evidence to promote interest to make
clinical trials. Nevertheless, according to Directive 2004/24 EC,
for a plant to be recognized as traditional herbal medicine, it must
have at least three decades of medical use, requirement that has
been achieved for dandelion leaves (folium Taraxaci) and roots
(radix Taraxaci) under the basis of a long-term history of use (EMA,
2011a,b).
The documents collected in this work mention nearly 700
species, while through The Plant List, 3529 species of Taraxacum
have been identied, of which 2336 were accepted species names,
642 were synonyms, and 551 species names are still in debate.
This indicates that only a little under 30% of taxonomically
identied species are mentioned in the available scientic litera-
ture (although this might be due to the fact that a large proportion
of these had been identied before the 1950s, a period when
international publications were scarce or not indexed in global
databases). Of all the species referenced, T. ofcinale, Taraxacum
Fig. 2. Documents related to Taraxacum investigation (a) per period of time (b) per established research area and (c) per species referenced in scientic literature available.
247
mongolicum, Taraxacum laevigatum (syn. of T. erythrospermum),
Taraxacum platycarpum, and T. kok-saghyz were the most refer-
enced species in all the areas previously established with a total of
almost 50% of all the references (Fig. 2b), while the rest of the
references are distributed among practically 700 species (less than
0.01% per species), mainly in documents related to taxonomic
identication and geographic distribution. T. ofcinale is the most
cited species, with 34% of all the mentions considering all the
collected documents (more than 2500 documents), derived from
its worldwide presence, common use, and its being the most
studied species in every established research eld.
Some difculties have been encountered when identifying species
in the literature one major problem is that a large number of species
have been renamed, which renders the tracking of the species difcult
and sometimes confusing. One example is T. ofcinale (L.) Weber ex F.
H. Wigg., a species known worldwide but recently classied as
Taraxacum campylodes G.E. Haglund. Interestingly, in this work,
reports for T. campylodes G.E. Haglund were not observed. None-
theless, Kirschner and tepnek (2011) indicated that the name T.
ofcinale can still be used either generally or traditionally, and is equal
to what is called the common dandelion. Another large problem is
that sometimes authors do not provide the correct taxonomic
identication of the species used in their research, and only a unique
vernacular name is given, like the name dandelion or the name
given in specic regions even when several local varieties of the plant
are present. In this case, human cultural practices can make the
identication to the species level very difcult, if not impossible, so
the traditional uses of specic species can be difcult to establish.
Glover (2013) gives as example that khur mang, a name for dandelion
in Tibet, can be used for T. ofcinale, T. mongolicum, and Taraxacum
tibetanum, as well as for Taraxacum sikkimense; if no proper voucher is
available for comparison and validation, these vernacular terms make
the research difcult when ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological
studies are carried out.
248 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
Analyzing the information gathered, this genus has been
considered as a species of high interest during two main periods,
although under two divergent approaches. Between 1930 and
1950, its research involved agricultural aspects predominately
due to the need to improve natural rubber production. Next, and
ever since the 1990s, pharmacological studies became the relevant
area of research. Despite the fact that these two main research
areas were identied as prevalent in distinct periods, they have
always been a constituent part of Taraxacum research and together
represent almost 50% of all documents (Fig. 2c). Research on the
composition of Taraxacum associated with pharmacological inves-
tigation has increased in relevance, while the genetics and biology
of the Taraxacum genus have remained as sideline considerations
in response to the main objectives of the scientic and market
communities during both periods.
At the beginning, not much pharmacological research was
performed considering Taraxacum even when this plant was
commonly mentioned for centuries as a medicinal herb in the
oral tradition. Most of the research before 1930 was focused on
taxonomic identication, biological and genetical research and to a
lesser extent, its pharmacological properties and biochemical
characterization. The rst reference related to the pharmacological
properties of Taraxacum dates back to the early XIX century
(Houlton, 1827) for the preparation of a medicinal powder and
claiming an improvement in its preparation process. After this,
Taraxacum was an experimental object for technologic advances
related to the preparation of extracts, juices, tinctures and creams
as medication (Bentley et al., 1841; Collier, 1843), but the interest
on explaining their pharmacological properties was still emerging.
The rst pharmacological studies were derived from the observa-
tion on the use of this plant by an ethnic group against tropical
rheumatism (Bird, 1843). Later, this plant was recommended for
the treatment of cardiac failure together with other herbs and
chemicals (Russell, 1896). The only directed pharmacological study
identied in this early period was conducted by Bennet (1869) in
which the author administered a dandelion extract to dogs with
biliary stulas to prove its cholagogue effect.
Already in 1910s, Power and Browning (1912) stated the root
of the common dandelion (T. ofcinale, Wiggers) appears to have
been employed medicinally for several centuries, and it still
maintains a place in the more important national Pharmacopoeias
() it was remarkable that up to the present time so little of a
denite nature should be known respecting its constituents, for,
apart from the observed presence of inulin () no well-
characterized compound has hitherto been isolated from this
root. Even when these authors characterized extracts of dande-
lions roots and compared them with previous investigations, there
was no interest from the scientic community in further char-
acterization of Taraxacum. A year later, Extractum Taraxaci and Fluid
extractum Taraxaci was revalidated at the Ninth Decennial Revision
of the United States Pharmacopoeia, but as a useless drug only
accepted under a commercial decision (Osbourne, 1913). It was
claimed that the number of prescriptions should not be a criteria
to give medicinal value to a drug, because this parameter needs to
be proven by its medicinal activity. The acceptance of Taraxacum in
the Pharmacopoeia, even when it had a little value and no
medicinal activity scientically proven at that time, told us about
the importance of dandelion in folk traditions for the treatment of
diseases, putting commercial pressure on its acceptance as drug.
After this and for several decades, pharmacological studies invol-
ving Taraxacum were neglected.
In the 1930s, this species gained economic signicance given its
potential use as an alternative to natural rubber from Hevea
brasiliensis, which held this product monopoly, and needed to be
replaced due to conicts arising from World War II. In this period,
a great amount of agronomical aspects were developed by
Germany, Russia and USA, to convert a T. kok-saghyz (at that time
recently discovered in Russia as a rubber containing species), in a
commercial source of this polymer, because the quality and
performance were even better than the one obtained from Hevea's
tree. Later, interest on Taraxacum decreased in the end of the
1940s due to the re-establishment of Hevea's natural rubber trade,
because the cost of rubber production from this tree was con-
siderably low compared to the extraction from Russian dandelion
(Buranov and Elmuradov, 2010). Only a small amount of research
was done after this, focused mainly on allergies and skin derma-
titis because of contact with dandelion leaves (Cohen et al., 1979;
Hausen, 1982) and to a lesser extent, its antitumor activity (Baba
et al., 1981), antibiotic activity (Wat et al., 1980) and its effect on
body weight (Rcz-Kotilla et al., 1974).
Responding to the new point of view of consumers to return to the
natural medicine avoiding synthetic drugs, it was not until 1990s,
when studies related to Taraxacum regained relevance. It began to be
considered as an important medicinal plant due to its extensive use to
relieve symptoms and diseases derived from popular knowledge,
giving to the Taraxacum genus the possibility of entering into the
market of natural drugs, and nutraceutical and functional food. The
effect of the market on the cultivation of medicinal plants is also
observed in others species of distinctive origin, especially in those of
Africa, Asia and South America, always bound with an important
ethnopharmacological background.
Considering the mode of consumption, Taraxacum are usually
eaten raw in salads, dried in infusions or cooked; the preparation
of products from this species such as liquors or marmalades is a
common practice in specic regions, specially in Italy, in which
Taraxacum is one of the most used plant for medicinal uses
(Guarrera and Savo, 2013; Hadjichambis et al., 2008). Traditional
use of Taraxacum and its mode of consumption by countries are
presented in Table 2. Considering ethnobotanical and ethnophar-
macological studies, industrial or technological advances of the
regions in which Taraxacum has been mentioned for traditional
uses have no impact on the preparation of this plant for human
consumption. The herbal manipulation and preparation is similar
across all continents, is independent of the ethnic and is not
associated to a specic social level or to the economic develop-
ment of the area. Even though herbal medicine is associated with
less developed regions due to the less availability of chemical
medicine, the preparation of this plant for its consumption is the
same whether they are intended to be used by isolated ethnic
groups or by high-income/industrialized local consumers. Remark-
ably, the latter adopts the traditional uses and preparation based
on the common knowledge stated by the former.
Only 14 species (20 species reported by authors, including syno-
myms) were mentioned in the available ethnopharmacological reports,
which represents less than 1% of the presently taxonomically identied
species. In general, no signicant differences were observed on the
claimed properties for Taraxacum between countries in America, Europe,
or Asia, indicating that traditions supporting medicinal uses of this plant
are well known and accepted worldwide. Taraxacum has been also cited
in ethnopharmacology for the treatment of symptoms or diseases that
are not commonly known, sometimes limited to a certain region where
it is possible to nd a particular species. For instance, Taraxacum
crepidiforme DC is referred to in Turkey as a treatment for eye diseases
due to the presence of sesquiterpenes in its latex (Altundag and Ozturk,
2011), while T. ofcinale was referred for toothache in Kosovo (Mustafa et
al., 2012b), for malaria treatment in Venezuela (Caraballo et al., 2004),
and for hypertension in Ghana (Abel and Busia, 2005). Another inter-
esting aspect reported in ethnopharmacological studies is that immi-
grants continue their traditional practices for natural medicine even once
inserted in highly industrialized countries, indicating the traditional
importance of herbal medicine. One such example comes from the
Colombian, Peruvian and Bolivian immigrants in London (Ceuterick
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262 249

Table 2
Main documents on traditional use of Taraxacum and its mode of consumption by countries.

Species (as reported by Vernacular Voucher Part of the Preparation Traditional uses Country Reference
the authors) name available plant used

T. androssovii Schischk. Zeze NO Leaves Poultice Antirheumatic, wounds. Turkey Altundag and
T. fedtschenkoi Hand.- Zeze NO Infusion Stomach disorders, internal medicine. Ozturk (2011)
Mazz. Kidney stones. Anti-inammatory.
T. crepidiforme DC Karahindiba, NO Dropped Eye diseases.
Hidut
T. cyprium H.Lind. NO Leaves Eaten Food. Jordan Al-Quran
(2005)
T. cyprium H.Lind. Pikrallida NO Aerial parts Eaten Internal ailments. Poisoning. Dyspepsya and Lardos (2006);
and root gastric tone. Cough and cold. Headache. Lev et al. (2005)
T. dissectum (Ledeb.) Xicoina YES Leaves Eaten in salad. Diuretic, hemathocathartic. Spain Rigat et al.
Ledeb. (2009)
T. erythrospermum Andrz. Picapollo, teta NO Peduncle of Raw snack, in Food. Spain Tardo et al.
ex Besser de vaca inorescence, salads (2006)
basal leaves
T. hybernum Stev. Karahindiba YES Flowers and Raw Antihypertensive. Kidney stones. Malasya Tetik et al.
leaves (2013)
T. macrolepium Schischk. Zeze NO Leaves Raw and Rheumatism. Wounds. Gastric and kidney Altundag and
infusions disorders. Inammations. Ozturk (2011)
T. mongolicum Pu gong ying YES Root, owers Root infusions Phlebitis, malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes. China Chaudhary et al.
and leaves Crushed in Acne, scarlet, fever, herpes and measles. (2006)
water for
baths
Flower tea Hepatitis, cancer, lack of milk.

T. megalorrhizon Tarakhon NO Leaves Raw Food. Jordan Al-Quran

(Forsskal) Hand. (2010)
T. obovatum (Willd.) DC. Pajito NO leaves Raw in salads Food. Spain Tardo et al.
or stewed (2006)
T. ofcinale Wigg. Han or Khur- YES Roots (with Powder Sedative, regulates urine discharge, and India Ballabh et al.
mang or another herbs) controls burning sensation of urine. (2008)
Sanma, Yamngi
T. ofcinale Weber ex F.H. Diente de len NO Leaves Infusion Hepatic and biliary ailments, viral and Mexico Andrade-Cetto
Wigg. bacterial infections, cancer and others. and Heinrich
(2005);
Rodrguez-
Fragoso et al.
(2008)
T. ofcinale Weber ex Dandelion, NO Leaves and No Diuretic, Liver complaints. Himalaya Sharma and Lal
Wigger karnphool roots information (2005)
Crush into a Snakebites, anti-inammatory.
paste, given
orally or
externally
applied
T. ofcinale F.H. Wigg. Dandelion NO Leaves and Eaten in salad, Clean blood and bowel. USA Cavender
aggr. root dried, (Appalachian (2006)
converted in region)
wine
T. ofcinale Weber Pisciacane, YES Flower and Infusion Digestive, refreshing. Italy Guarrera (2005)
sufone leaves
T. ofcinale Dandelion NO Whole plant Powder Hypertension. Ghana Abel and Busia
(2005)
T. ofcinale Web. Piscialletto; NO Whole plant Decoction, in Anti-haemorrhoids, to heal varicose veins, Italy Pieroni et al.
sofone washes to treat diverse skin inammations. (2004)
T. ofcinale Web. NO Leaves and Decoction Malaria. Venezuela Caraballo et al.
roots (Amazon) (2004)
T. ofcinale Weber Divlia radice, NO Flowers Honey Antitussive. Croatia Pieroni et al.
maslaac obtained (2003)
cooking the
owers with
sugar
T. ofcinale Weber Achicoria, YES Aerial part Infusion Bile and vesicular. Kidney and liver pain Bolivia Maca et al.
diente de len disorders. Stomach ulcer. (2005)
Leaves Eaten as salad Depurative.
T. ofcinale Weber NO Leaves and Decoction and Depurative, eupeptic. Italy Lokar and
owers juice Gastronomic use. Poldini (1988)
T. ofcinale Weber Sufone, YES Leaves and Eaten in salad Diuretic, cholagogue, laxative, bitter-tonic, Italy Guarrera (2003)
piscialletto, owers or boiled stomachic, anti-diabetic.
pisciacane,
grugni selvatici
T. ofcinale Weber Cicoria burda YES Whole plant Decoction Liver diseases. Italy Loi et al. (2004)
T. ofcinale Weber Lwenzahn, NO Leaves Eating in salad Depurative. Russia Pieroni and
udovaitsch Gray (2008)
T. ofcinale L. YES Infusion Diuretic kidney stones, renal depurative.
250 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262

Table 2 (continued )

Species (as reported by Vernacular Voucher Part of the Preparation Traditional uses Country Reference
the authors) name available plant used

Diente de len, Leaves and Baths Anti-inammatory. Peru and Ceuterick et al.
dandelion roots Bolivia (2011)
T. ofcinale L. Diente de len, YES Leaves and Infusion of Hepatodepurative, depurative, diuretic, to Colombia Ceuterick et al.
Dandelion roots dried leaves. treat kidney stones. (2008)
Eaten fresh.
Roasted root. Coffee substitute.
T. ofcinale Pupava, NO Aerial part Raw or fried Food. Slovakia uczaj (2012)
popovak,
pitypang
T. ofcinale Web. NO Flowers, Raw, cooked Diuretic, cough, hypotensive, intestinal Italy Guarrera and
leaves and or boiled. Jam. astringent. Savo (2013)
roots
T. ofcinale Web. Maslaak NO Leaves Eaten in salad Food. Serbia Jari et al.
or blanched or (2007)
cooked as a
vegetable
pulse
T. ofcinale Web. Lulpipze, YES Flower and Infusion. Stomach pain, Urinary infections. Menstrual Kosovo Mustafa et al.
luleshurdh, leaves pain. Respiratory infections. (2012a, 2012b)
pipilia Anticholesterolemic.

Leaves Chew Toothaches.

T. ofcinale agg. F.H. Maslaak NO Flower, leaf Infusion. Diabetes, rheumatism, anemia and irregular Bosnia and Saric-Kundalic
Wigg. and root Decoction menstruation. Blood purication, corpus Herzegovina et al. (2011)
with milk. purication, biliary tract purication, for
regulation of digestion and loss of appetite.
Liver disorder.
Diabetes.
External Sunspots
application
T. ofcinale Weber Peeli booti NO Leaves Decoction. Diabetes. Laxative, diuretic and tonic. To Pakistan Mahmood et al.
treat liver and spleen problems. Heart (2011)
trouble. Constipation.
Roots Cataplasms Root paste is applied on swelling and
joints pains.
T. ofcinale Weber Diente de len, NO Aerial part or Raw as a snack Food. Spain Tardo et al.
dent de llec, peduncle of or in salads. (2006)
camarroja inorescences Infusion.
and basal
leaves
Roasted roots. Coffee substitute.

T. ofcinale L. Khur mang, NO Leaves Leaves are Alleviate hot disorders. Tibet Boesi (2014)
khur dkar, khur fried in oil or
nag, nyin dgun cooked in
me tog, rnag gi water.
T. tibetanum Handel- Me tog NO Leaves Leaves are Alleviate hot disorders. Tibet Boesi (2014)
Mazzett khur mang fried in oil or
cooked in
water.
T. sikkimense Wigg. Han or Khur- YES Roots (with Powder daily Sedative, regulates urine discharge, and India Ballabh et al.
mang-karpo another herbs) for 1215 days controls burning sensation of urine. (2008)
T. palustre (Lyons) Pitones Basal leaves Raw in salads Food. Spain Tardo et al.
Symons. or stewed (2006)
T. panalpinum van Soest Dente de leo YES Roots and Juice Diuretic. Depurative. Bile stimulant. Liver, Portugal Neves et al.
leaves gallbladder and jaundice problems. (2009)
Digestive. Constipation. Tonic. Calculus.
Against cholesterol, atherosclerosis, urea
and gout. High blood pressure. Cellulite and
obesity. Malaria.
T. platycarpum Dahlst. Mindeulle NO Leaves and Salad, Kimchi, Furuncles, mammitis, hepatitis, jaundice. Korea Kim et al.
Mindeulre root seasoned (2006)
cooked
vegetables.
Taraxacum platycarpum Mindeulre SI Leaf and stems Decoction. Cancer. Glycosuria. Liver diseases. Korea Song and Kim
Dahlst. Brewing. Pleurodynia. Stomach problems. (2011)
Infusion.
T. pseudobrachyglossum Karahindiba YES Roots Decoction Kidney Stones. Antipyretic. Turkey Tuzlaki and
van Soest Alparslan
(2007)
T. pyropappum Boiss. & Pitones Basal leaves Raw in salads Food. Spain Tardo et al.
Reut. or stewed (2006)
T. stenolepium Hand.- Dado YES Roots and Jaundice. Gastric and hepatic ailments. Pakistan Khan and
Mazz. leaves Constipation. Diarrhea. Khatoon (2008)
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
Fig. 3. Literature related to the composition of Taraxacum related to (a) research area, (b) compounds of interest and (c) studied species.
et al., 2008, 2011) or the Russian immigrants in Germany (Pieroni and
Gray, 2008), where practitioners continue using Taraxacum, among other
plants, for treatment of diseases as used in their native countries.
3.2. Taraxacum nutritional composition and bioactive compounds
The identication and characterization of the Taraxacum com-
position has been a topic of interest for several decades, mainly to
identify bioactive compounds related to its pharmacological prop-
erties. Research regarding compounds identication of Taraxacum
is shown in Fig. 3. The research related to the identication of
biochemical prole and nutritional composition of Taraxacum
genus represents 65% of all documents available (Fig. 3a), while
there is an emerging interest to explain what parameter or
condition enhances the bioactive yield in the plant and/or increase
the plant yield in the eld in order to obtain a better process with
an economical point of view (only 6% of all documents). More
detailed information on these researches is given in the following
sections.
Another topic found in bioactive compounds research is the use of
Taraxacum for the development of new technology, representing 23%
of all the documents related to composition of Taraxacum. For
centuries, technology regarding Taraxacum relies on the traditional
preparation of extracts, creams, infusions and tinctures, mainly using
a low-tech solid/liquid extraction. Nowadays, technology involved in
the characterization of its biochemical prole has moved rapidly
according to the necessity to identify and quantify bioactive com-
pounds and explain their mode of action in a reliable way, hence
supporting the medicinal value of Taraxacum. In this sense, advance in
chromatographic techniques is the main research area in which this
genus has been identied as an experimental object (data not shown)
due to its widely known biochemical prole.
Regarding the biochemical prole of Taraxacum, literature shows
that terpenes, avonoids and phenolic compounds are the more
studied and characterized compounds in this genus (45% of all
literature related), followed by mineral composition (21%) and the
rubber/isoprenes content of the plant (11%) (Fig. 3b). Interest in the
mineral composition of dandelion derives on its natural ability to
accumulate soil minerals in its leaves and root, being considered as a
potential bio-indicator of environmental contamination (Ligocki et al.,
2011), while rubber quantication has been the most industrial topic
related to Taraxacum, especially in 19301950s.
Considering research by species, T. ofcinale again is the most
studied species in this area, followed by T. kok-saghyz, T. platycar-
pum and T. laevigatum (synonym of T. erythrospermum) (Fig. 3c).
Particularly, T. kok-saghyz has been widely studied because of its
251
rubber and inulin content, but always related to a commercial
point of view; particularly, this species does not have a biochem-
ical characterization or references for medicinal use. In contrast,
other species such as T. mongolicum or Taraxacum coreanum have
been only studied considering their pharmacological properties
but nutritional characterization has not been done yet. This
indicates that there is an important discrepancy in terms of
relevance that has been given to the medicinal potential of
different species. Authors indicate there are common compounds
across all Taraxacum sections but their concentration varies
between these, and because of that, different compounds can be
used also for the species identication (Michalska and Kisiel, 2004,
2008). It is important to note that T. ofcinale is the only species
that has been well characterized in its biochemical prole and
nutritional composition associated to an economical interest,
mainly for the purpose of using as food and fodder, because it is
a globally distributed species that is present in a wide range of
ethnic traditions and it is commonly found in pastures where
livestock is present.
Research on terpene, phenol and avonoid content in Tarax-
acum genus started early in 1910s with the identication of
choline as an anticancer agent in Taraxacum roots (Power and
Browning, 1912). Later, Burrows and Simpson (1938) identied
triterpene alcohols in root extracts, but it was only in the 1960s,
when the interest for identifying and quantifying these com-
pounds in Taraxacum became relevant to the scientic community
(Booth, 1964). As mentioned before, since the early 1990s there
has been a considerable shift in the perspective of consumers
toward nutraceuticals and functional foods, moving from synthetic
ingredients toward natural and organic foods, beverages and
supplements. This represented a market of US$140.1 million in
2010, with a 15% growth rate expected in 2015 (Frost and Sullivan,
2011). For Taraxacum, the investigation of bioactive compounds,
especially terpenes, phenols and avonoids, represents almost a
half of the total research, supporting the importance that these
bioactive compounds have now, because they can provide health
and medicinal benets, reducing the expensive/high-tech/chemi-
cal disease treatment approaches presently being employed in
Western healthcare.
Proteins, carbohydrates and lipids are directly related to the
nutritional composition and represent the interest of using dan-
delion as food (Escudero et al., 2003) and fodder (Vondrkov
et al., 2012). This is because it is an entirely edible plant and its
leaves, roots, and owers can be incorporated into different food
products. Regarding all of the ethnopharmacological studies in
which this plant is mentioned, primarily all documents refer about
252 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262

this plant as a food eaten in salads or drunk as infusion. Only one
refers the use of Taraxacum as fodder, specically for goat grazing
(Arshad and Ahmad, 2005). In this sense, Taraxacum has an
important background supporting the use of this plant in the
industry of functional foods and herbal supplements because of
the different bioactive compounds that have been identied in the
Taraxacum genus, and its traditional and well-established mode of
consumption. Terpenoids, avonoids, vitamins, carotenoids, poly-
phenols, inulin and minerals can be used as nutraceuticals as an
added value to the nutritional prole of this plant.
Some biochemical characterization studies of Taraxacum genus,
considering different species and parts of the plant, are presented in
Table 3. One disadvantage is that most of the studies identifying
compounds are qualitative, and do not provide information about
their extraction yields or other quantitative data that could be useful
for scaling-up techniques or for estimating yields and productivities
under a more commercial point of view. Furthermore, uncertainties
arise through comparison of data provided by authors since a not
unsignicant number of studies do not indicate which part of the
plant was used. This is an important hinderance to data analysis,
since it has been reported that the ower, leaf, stem, and root contain
different compounds and in varying concentrations (Williams et al.,
1996). In addition, sometimes portions of the taxonomic identica-
tion of the species are missing, only mentioned as Taraxi radix, Taraxi

Table 3
Main documents on phytochemical composition of different Taraxacum species.

Species (as reported by the authors) Part of the plant reported for Major compounds identied References
compounds extraction

T. alpinum No information. Se. 22

T. antungense No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. asiaticum No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. bessarabicum (Hornem.) Hand.-Mazz. Root. Se., Fl., Ph. 14, 34
T. coreanum Aerial part. Leaves, root and Fl., Ph. 16, 17, 48
ower.
T. disseminatum Root. Se. 49
T. erythrospermum Andrz. ex Besser Root. Se. 23
T. falcilobum No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. formosarum Kitam Leaves, root and/or whole plant. Ca., St., Tr., Fl. 7, 10, 18, 19
Others. Carboline, carboxaldehyde, carboxylic acid,
pheophytin-b, methyl pheophorbide-b, aldehydes,
methylparaben, nicotinamide.
T. hallaisanensis Aerial part, and root. Fl., Ph., Se., Tr. 45, 47
T. hondoense Whole plant. Se. 13
T. japonicum Koidz. Root. Tr. 1
T. laevigatum Root. Se. 49
T. lamprolepis No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. liaotungense No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. mongolicum Hand.-Mazz. Aerial part. Whole plant. No Ph., Fl., Li. 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
information. 48
T. obovatum (Willd.) DC. Aerial part, root. No information. Te., Se. 21, 25, 33
Others. Organic acids.
T. ohwianum Leaves, root and ower. Fl., Ph. 16, 48
T. ofcinale Web. (-agg., -Wigg., -Wiggers Flower. Leaves. Involucral bracts. Ca., Cu., Se.Tr., Fl., Ph. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16,
and Webers, -F. H. Wigg., -Waggner, T. Root. Whole plant. Pollen. No Others: Prunasin choline. N-alkanes of the homologous 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 44,
dens leonis) information. series C25, C27, C29, C31. Chalcones, phlobatanins, cardiac 46, 48, 50
glycosides.
T. platycarpum Dahlst. Flower. Others. Alkanediols. 3
T. serotinum (Waldst. et Kit.) Fisch. Root. Se. 24
T. sinicum Kitag No information. Fl., Ph. 20
T. sinomongolicum No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. udum Jord. Root. Leaves. Se. 26, 27
T.urbanum Kitag. No information. Fl., Ph. 48
T. wallichii DC. Whole plant. St., Se., Tr. 2

Main compounds identied in the genus Taraxacum; minor derivatives are not mentioned.
St.: Steroids (including phytosterol, stigmasterol, /-sitosterol, taraxasterol, cluytianol, 31-Nordihydrolanosterol).
Te.: Terpenoids (including norisoprenoids loliolide, roseoside, icariside B1).
Ca.: Carotenoids (including violaxanthin, neochrome, neoxanthin, luteoxanthin, antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, canthaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, chlorophyll, carotene).
Cu.: Coumarins (including coumarin, esculetin, umbelliferone, scopoletin).
Se.: Sesquiterpenoids (germacranolides, guaianolides and eudesmanolides, including syringin, ixerin D, gallicin, ainsolides, chicorin, taraxacoside, taraxacin A and B/taraxinic
acid/lactucopicrin, lactucin, taraxafolide, taraxafolin-B, prunasin, crepidiaside B, dihydrozaluzanin C, jacquinelin, vernoexuoside, picriside B, sonchuside A, dihydroconi-
ferin).
Tr.: Triterpenoids (including oleonolic and ursolic acids, lupeol, /-amyrin, taraxasteryl acetate, lupenyl acetate, taraxeryl acetate, neolupenyl acetate, tarolupenyl acetate,
ofcinatrione).
Ph.: Phenolic compounds (including chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, caffeoylquinic, caftaric, quinic, benzoic, cinnamic, vanillic, gallic, protocatechuic and cumaric acid, vanillin,
chrysoeriol).
Fl.: Flavonoids (including luteolin, luteoloside, diosmetin, quercetin, apigenin, artemetin, isoetin, alquds, hesperidin, genkwanin).
Li.: Lignan (including mongolicumin A and B, rufescidride).
(1) Ageta et al. (1981); (2) Ahmad et al. (2000); (3) Akihisa et al. (1998); (4) Atallah and Nichols. (1971); (5) Booth (1964); (6) Budzianowsky (1997); (7) Chen et al. (2012); (8)
Chkhikvishvili and Kharebava (2001); (9) Gnecco et al. (1989); (10) Kao et al. (2012); (11) Khan et al. (2011); (12) Kisiel and Barszcz (2000); (13) Kisiel and Michalska (2005);
(14) Kisiel and Michalska (2006); (15) Krist et al. (2002); (16) Lee et al. (2011a); (17) Lee et al. (2011b); (18) Leu et al. (2003); (19) Leu et al. (2005); (20) Ling et al. (1998);
(21) Michalska and Kisiel (2003); (22) Michalska and Kisiel (2007); (23) Michalska and Kisiel (2008); (24) Michalska and Kisiel (2009); (25) Michalska and Kisiel (2004); (26)
Michalska et al. (2010a); (27) Michalska et al. (2010b); (28) Mizushina et al. (2003); (29) Nitsche and Pleugel (1972); (30) Power and Browning (1912); (31) Rauwald and
Huang (1985); (32) Saeki et al. (2013); (33) Snchez-Mata et al. (2011); (34) Sari and Keeci (2012); (35) Schtz et al. (2005); (36) Shi et al. (2007); (37) Shi et al. (2008a); (38)
Shi et al. (2008b); (39) Shi et al. (2008c); (40) Shi et al. (2008d); (41) Shi et al. (2008e); (42) Shi et al. (2008f); (43) Shi et al. (2009); (44) Soc et al. (2010); (45) Whang et al.
(1994); (46) Williams et al. (1996); (47) Yang et al. (1996); (48) Zhu et al. (2011); (49) Zielinska and Kisiel (2000); (50) nidari et al. (2011).
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
folium, Herba Taraxi, Taraxacum or dandelion, especially when
researches use commercial preparations or when the plant is
acquired in common markets, only occassionaly do authors provide
species validation using a proper voucher.
In the last three decades, several authors have established a
parallel between composition and pharmacological properties of
Taraxacum genus (EMA, 2011a,b; Schtz et al., 2006; Yarnell and
Abascal 2009). Gonzlez-Castejn et al. (2012) give a list of
compounds present in the leaves, roots, and owers of Taraxacum
which are closely related to its pharmacological properties. These
authors indicate sesquiterpene lactones for antimicrobial and anti-
inammatory activity; triterpenes and phytosterol for cholesterol
absorption; avonoids, such as antioxidant phenolic acids, for
immunostimulatory activity; and coumarins, for cardiovascular
diseases. Currently, there is a growing importance in elucidating
how the Taraxacum genus treats and cures diseases, knowing
which compounds are present in different species, and developing
methods and techniques increasing concentration and further
recuperation, would be useful for exploiting the important poten-
tial that this genus has as a medicinal plant.
Specically, several authors have correlated the mode of
action of Taraxacum extracts with certain compounds present in
its extracts. For example, Akihisa et al. (1996) identied 11
triterpene alcohols in T. ofcinale and T. platycarpum (taraxasterol,
-and -amyrin, lupeol, taraxerol and cycloartenol, among others),
all with marked inhibitory activity (ID50 0.10.8 mg/ear) against
TPA-induced inammation in mice. Hata et al. (2000) reported
that extracts of Taraxacum root also inhibited cell growth and
induced melanogenesis of B16 2F2 cells, with lupeol identied as
the main active compound. Choi et al. (2002) suggested that
taraxinic acid isolated from T. coreanum induces the differentiation
of human leukemia cells to monocyte/macrophage lineage, and
has potential as a therapeutic agent in human leukemia. Kim et al.
(2011) isolated an eudesmanolide from T. mongolicum, which
presented inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production with an
IC50 of 38.9 M in activated RAW 264.7 cells. Warashina et al.,
2012 isolated 26 compounds (mainly triterpenes and sesquiter-
penes) from an extract of T. platycarpum roots, which showed
signicant effects on the proliferation of normal human skin
broblasts.
Recently, Zhang et al. (2014) indicated that taraxasterol, isolated
from T. ofcinale, has a protective effect on the murine model of
endotoxic shock induced by LPS through modulating inammatory
cytokine and mediator secretion, signicantly reducing TNF-, IFN-,
IL-1, IL-6, NO, and PGE2 levels in sera from mice with endotoxic
shock. Xiong et al. (2014) investigated the effects of taraxasterol on
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)
expression, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling
pathways in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. Zhihao et al.
(2014) also indicated that the antiinammatory activity of taraxasterol
might be due to its ability to inhibit the NF-B and MAPK signaling
pathways. Park et al. (2010a) indicated that luteolin and chicoric acid
could be related to the high activity shown by extracts in ameliorating
LPS-induced oxidative stress and inammation in RAW 264.7 cells,
while Hu and Kitts (2004) indicated that this can be achieved with
luteolin at concentrations lower than 20 M, without introducing
cytotoxicity. Yamabe et al. (2014) indicated that luteolin is the main
active component of T. coreanum extract and is responsible for
activating caspases-3 and -8 which contribute to apoptotic cell death.
Less information is available regarding phenolics and other
compounds from Taraxacum. Kour and Bani (2011) isolated chi-
coric acid from T. ofcinale aqueous extract and studied its effect
on the behavioral and biochemical alterations induced by chronic
restraint stress in Swiss albino mice; the study found considerable
antidepressant activity and stress busting potential at a 1 mg/kg
dose level of the isolate. Additionally, Park et al. (2010b) isolated
253
two polysaccharides from T. ofcinale that showed a hepatopro-
tective effect by modulating inammatory responses which ame-
liorate CCl4-induced oxidative stress in Sprague  Dawley rats.
Recently, Qian et al. (2014) prepared an extract of oligosaccharides
from T. ofcinale, which have shown high antibacterial activity
against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus.
Wang et al. (2014) isolated polysaccharides from Taraxacum,
reporting antibacterial and antioxidant activities against food
pathogens, especially for white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei, Boone)
during refrigerated storage.
3.3. Pharmacological properties and uses of Taraxacum: a traditional
and scientic approach
As stated before, Taraxacum has been considered traditionally
for the treatment of several symptoms and diseases in humans,
mainly diabetes, cancer and gastric, renal and hepatic ailments,
having also an important role as a detoxier and antioxidant,
among other properties (EMA, 2011a,b; Kemper, 1999; Schtz
et al., 2006; Sweeney et al., 2005; Yarnell and Abascal 2009).
Diseases identied as commonly treated with Taraxacum are
presented in Fig. 4. Although dandelion has been recognized as a
medicinal plant by popular tradition since ancient times, it was
not until the 1980s1990s when identication of bioactive com-
pounds gave Taraxacum a new drive in the research of its
medicinal properties (Fig. 4a). Nowadays, the increased interest
in Taraxacum is directly related by the antioxidant, anti-inam-
matory, antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal) and antiviral
activity, and antitumoral properties, followed for its effects on
glycemia, as a diuretic and for modulation of the immune system,
among others (Fig. 4b).
Considering the species related with pharmacological research, T.
ofcinale represents more than 70% of the total references, followed
by T. mongolicum, T. platycarpum and T. coreanum (Fig. 4c). T. ofcinale
was again the most cited species (63% of all the mentions). Moreover,
several Taraxacum species used as part of traditional herbal medicine
do not have pharmacological studies supporting their use or dosage
principles. Only T. ofcinale, T. mongolicum, T. platycarpum and T.
coreanum had references in ethnopharmacology and pharmacology
studies that preliminarily support their traditional use. T. ofcinale is
the species with most claimed uses and properties, being recognized
by the scientic community as a strong candidate for the study of its
medicinal properties derived from its extensive traditional knowledge
and its worldwide presence.
A parallel between scientic research and ethno-pharmacological
studies is shown in Table 4. Scientic research on the medicinal
effects of Taraxacum has been comprised in several in vitro and in vivo
studies, but few studies have been conducted in relation to humans.
The scarce literature on human clinical trials has been pointed out by
several reviewers (Schtz et al., 2006; Sweeney, 2005), who agree
that human clinical studies have been quite lacking in spite of the
large volume of information that supports the traditional medicinal
use of this plant. Moreover, researchers state that scientic evidence
is still unclear, confusing or conicting when comparing the treat-
ment of certain diseases, and that there is extensive literature that is
contradictory or poorly delivered with incomparable results.
In regards to human trials, Clare et al. (2009) tested an extract of T.
ofcinale in humans by measuring diuretic activity over a one-day
period, the use of which resulted in an increase in the frequency of
urination for all participants. Beyond this study, human trials generally
involve herbal preparations composed of several plant species in order
to evaluate their effect, for instance, Dzherelo, which contained
dandelion in combination with other medicinal plants and sugars,
tested for its response in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis
(Immunoxel; Zaitzeva et al., 2009). Some herbal preparations also have
been tested on animals, such as DT-1E, comprising dandelion, adlay,
254 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
Fig. 4. Documents related to pharmacological properties of Taraxacum related to (a) the period of time considered, (b) its pharmacological properties and (c) the studied
species.
sucrose and ant extract on the expression of reproductive hormone
receptor in mice (Advance Wellness Institute, Japan; Zhi et al., 2007);
EH-1501, containing grape leaf, strawberry, dandelion and milk thistle
on thioacetamide-induced liver brosis (EuroHealth, Italy; Kantah et al.,
2011); HV-P411, containing seeds of Vitis vinifera, Schisandra chinensis
and T. ofcinale against D-galactosamine-induced hepatoxicity in rats
(Kang et al., 2012); Jin-Ying-Tang, containing Herba taraxi among other
medicinal plants on S. aureus-induced mastitis in mice (JYT, Wang et al.,
2012) and P-9801091, containing T. ofcinale among other medicinal
herbs for toxicological assessment on mice (Petlevski et al., 2003).
EH0202 (Fufang-Pugongying-Mixture, Li et al., 2004) and Deng's herbal
tea containing honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, Rhizoma imperatae,
Folium mori, dandelion and liquorice (Deng et al., 2011) were also
studied for bioactive compounds characterization.
Furthermore, even though Taraxacum has an important number of
scientic studies, EMA (2011a,b) indicates that pharmacodynamic and
pharmacokinetic data regarding this herbal substance/preparation are
not available yet. Furthermore, studies for clinical efcacy and dose
response were not found, and information on posology and duration
of use, or clinical studies in special populations (e.g. elderly and
children) are not available. In terms of clinical safety and pharmaco-
surveillance, no toxicological/safety data from clinical trials in humans
are available. Drug interactions are not known, but is mentioned that
patients on lithium therapy who use herbal preparations with diuretic
action (e.g. dandelion) may experience dehydration and resulting
lithium toxicity (EMA, 2011a,b). Because toxicity has not been
reported, consumption of Taraxacum is qualied under the GRAS seal
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and approved as food for
the Council of Europe (EMA, 2011a,b) while the European Scientic
Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) recommends using the roots of
Taraxacum to improve liver function and bile production, for indiges-
tion and for lack of appetite. Furthermore, the German Commission E
has approved its use for loss of appetite, dyspepsia, and diuresis,
among others (Sweeney et al., 2005).
Most of the undesirable effects are related to allergic reactions
to its pollen (Chivato et al., 1996) or because of the contact with its
leaves (Jovanovic et al., 2004; Paulsen et al., 2008), including hives,
asthma (Uter et al., 2001) and toxic epidermal necrosis (Hemmige
et al., 2010). The presence of sesquiterpene lactones in dandelion
(mainly taraxinic acid) has been clearly stated as the cause of
allergic contact dermatitis (Hausen, 1982; Jovanovic et al., 2004;
Lundh et al., 2006). There are few reports of unwanted side effects
during consumption of the plant, such as tachycardia (Vitalone
et al., 2012), strong hipoglaecemic effects (Goksu et al., 2010) and
hypokalemia (Jacobsson et al., 2009), and also for allergic reactions
to the use of dandelions preparations (Federici et al., 2005). So far
these documents have been referred to specic cases and have not
been scientically proven or associated with negative effects
reported in clinical trials. However, no deaths are mentioned. Only
one ethnopharmacology study mentioned Taraxacum as a toxic
plant, indicating that the intake of Taraxacum cyprium leaves and
latex can cause severe headache (Al-Quran, 2005).
3.4. Biotechnological research on Taraxacum for improvement of its
potential as an herbal medicine
One of the main problem with the plants used in the pharma-
copeia is that they are generally located in specic areas, which
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262 255

Table 4
Parallel between ethno-pharmacological and scientic references mentioned for Taraxacum genus in the literature.

Ethno-pharmacological references Scientic references (Adapted from Schtz et al. (2006), Gonzlez-Castejn et al.
(2012) and Sweeney et al. (2005)).

Cystitis, lithiasis and depurative. Diuretic, sedative and against urinary tract in vivo. Diuretic effects in rats and mice and benecial effects on urolithiasis in rats.
ailments (1, 3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, Diuretic effect on humans.
45).
Anti-inammatory activity (32, 35). Hepatitis (8, 42), mastitis (8), arthritis (21), in vitro. Inuences certain inammatory mediators (TNF-a, COX-2, IL-1, iNOS) in
phlebitis (42), rheumatism (2, 11, 13, 31), inammation of airways and urinary leukocytes, astrocytes and RAW264.7 macrophages.
tract (27), bronchitis (28). Cellulitis (14). Menstrual pains (27). in vivo. Inhibits the production of inammatory cytokines in rats, and mice. Anti-
inammatory activity in inammatory bowel disease in humans.
Digestion, gastric problems, diarrhea, constipation, dyspepsia, atulence and loss of in vitro. Enhances contraction of smooth muscle cells. Prebiotic effects. Increases
appetite (3, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 22, 27, 29, 29, 31, 32, 41, 42). Eupeptic (44). growth of six benecial intestinal bacterial strains.
Choleretic activity. For increasing bile production (10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 24, 31). in vivo. Cholagogic effects in dogs, and choleretic effects in rats. Improves
Bladder ailments (17, 24, 26, 31). constipation, diarrhea, and intestinal cramping in humans with chronic colitis.
Improves symptoms of patients with gastric ulcers, gastric metaplasia and
hyperplasia.
Anti-glycaemic activity. Diabetes. Glycosuria. (2, 10, 11, 12, 31, 35, 40, 42). in vitro. Insulin secretagogue activity showed in INS-1 cells.
in vivo. Decreases serum glucose concentrations in rats and mice. Inhibitory activity
of -glucosidase in rabbits.
Antibiotic and antiviral activity (7, 24, 38, 42). Phthisis (39). Malaria (14, 42, 43). in vitro. Antiviral effects against HHV1, and antimicrobial effects.
Tuberculosis (18, 42). Herpes (42). Pleurodynia (12). Antipyretic (41, 16, 31, 42). Immunomodulation.
Acne (42) in vivo. Stimulates the innate immune response in macrophages.
Immunomodulatory effects in mice.
Cancer (12, 24, 26, 42). in vitro. Anticarcinogenic effect in HepG2 cells and CaCo-2 cells. Decreases the
growth of MCF-7/AZ cells, blocks invasion of LNCcP cells, and induces apoptosis in
leukemia cells.
in vivo. Inhibits growth of cancer cells in mice.
Antioxidant activity. Hepatic detoxier and against hepatic ailments and in vitro. Antioxidant activity demonstrated by inhibition of NADPH, superoxide
hepatotoxicity (3, 11, 21, 17, 20, 24, 26, 29, 42). Atherosclerosis (14). Obesity (14, radical, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide. Reduces nitric oxide production
31). and peroxyl-radical-induced oxidation in RAW264.7 cells. Radical-scavenging
activity in V79-4 cells. Hyperlipidemia. Pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity.
Decreases lipid peroxidation in HepG2 cells.
in vivo. Antioxidant properties of dandelion extract in mice, rats and rabbits.
Hypolipidemic effects in rats and mice. Decreases triglycerides and total cholesterol
levels in rats. Modulates phase I and II detoxication enzymes and hepatic
antioxidative systems in rats, decreases lipid peroxidation in mice and attenuates
hepatic damage in rats.
Analgesic and sedative (15). in vivo. Analgesic effects in mice.

Poisoning (7, 19). Cardiac disorders (11). High blood pressure (14, 38, 45). Blood detoxicant (2, 5, 23, 32). Jaundice (14, 29). Endocrine disorders, menstruation,
menopause (2). Lactic stimulant (42).
Other scientic research carried out for Taraxacum; however, no ethno-pharmaceutical reports has been cited so far.
in vitro. Thrombosis and ischemia. Platelet antiaggregation activity. in vivo. Inhibits angiogenesis in mice.

(1) Ceuterick et al. (2011); (2) Saric-Kundalic et al. (2011); (3) Ceuterick et al. (2008); (4) Jari et al. (2007); (5) Cavender (2006); (6) Colvard et al. (2006); (7) Lardos (2006);
(8) Kim et al. (2006); (9) Lev et al. (2005); (10) Guarrera (2003); (11) Mahmood et al. (2011); (12) Song and Kim (2011); (13) Altundag and Ozturk (2011); (14) Neves et al.
(2009); (15) Ballabh et al. (2008); (16) Tuzlaki and Alparslan (2007); (17) Maca et al. (2005); (18) Guarino et al. (2008); (19) Al-Quran (2005); (20) Loi et al. (2004); (21)
Haddad et al. (2003); (22) Guarrera (2005); (23) Rigat et al. (2009); (24) Rodrguez-Fragoso et al. (2008); (25) Pieroni and Gray (2008); (26) Zaffani et al. (2006); (27) Mustafa
et al. (2012a); (28) Mustafa et al. (2012b); (29) Khan and Khatoon (2008); (30) Gupta et al. (2013); (31) Arenas et al. (2013); (32) Sharma and Lal (2005); (33) Arango (2004);
(34) Everest and Ozturk (2005); (35) Arshad and Ahmad (2005); (36) Smith (1923); (37) Lagos-Lpez (2007); (38) Guarrera and Savo (2013); (39) Gautam et al. (2007); (40)
Andrade-Cetto and Heinrich (2005); (41) Wangchuk (2004); (42) Chaudhary et al. (2006); (43) Caraballo et al. (2004); (44) Lokar and Poldini (1988); (45) Tetik et al. (2013).

limits their availability to the industry. On the other hand, the low
productivity of natural bioactive compounds and the low eld
yield of the plant derive in over-harvesting native plants, using
large land extensions for cropping and having a great amount of
biomass residues, so the plant becomes less attractive for a
commercial uses. Considering these facts, several biotechnological
aspects can be approached in order to improve the performance of
the culture. This can be done through biological and agronomic
research or by genetic transformation: the growth is enhanced and
an increase bioactive synthesis and its accumulation are achieved.
3.4.1. Agronomy
In general, agronomic studies refer to the management of
dandelion as an invasive weed plant for industrial crops. A lesser
amount of information relates to the cultivation of dandelion as a
source of rubber and sugars, derived from the industrial cultiva-
tion of T. kok-saghyz in the decades of 19301950. This research
includes the addition of nutrients, crop management, inuence of
environmental conditions, use of fertilizers and seed sources,
among others (Krotkov, 1945; Whaley and Bowen, 1947).
Overall, the consumption of Taraxacum is still alive in popular
practice, being directly collected in the wild or grown in home
gardens for private consumption. Only in China, T. mongolicum is
cultivated on purpose for medicinal and gastronomic use
(Wujisguleng and Khasbagen, 2010) but cultivation studies have
not been carried out. Recently, studies on greenhouse cultivation
of T. ofcinale are capturing attention because of the possibility of
manipulating environmental conditions in order to increase the
quality of the plant and its composition. Pedneault et al. (2002)
investigated the inuence of greenhouse hydroponics culture
against eld conditions on the concentration of caftaric, chicoric
and chlorogenic acids of T. ofcinale. Results showed that the
phenolic compound concentration was higher in eld-grown
plants (31.2 mg/g dry weight) compared to hydroponically-
grown plants (5.0 mg/g dry weight). Authors indicate that the
higher accumulation of phenolic acids in eld-grown T. ofcinale
could be explained by the UV-B radiation. Hydroponically grown
plants grew faster than eld-grown plants suggesting that
256 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
phenolic compounds accumulate to a greater extent in slow-
growing species. Lonhart et al. (2002) reported that chicoric acid
was mainly concentrated in the leaf, reaching a maximum of
2.17 0.5% during the early stage of plant development (35 days of
growth) and with an optimal harvesting time after 3543 days of
growth. In this period, bioactive compound accumulation per
square meter of crop production was the highest. The main
advantage is that greenhouse cultivation of Taraxacum could
provide healthy, pure and standardized plant material as high
quality product year round, essential for the commercialization of
medicinal plant products.
3.4.2. Biology
Considering the study of metabolic and biosynthetic pathways
for secondary metabolites synthesis, Aexel et al. (1967) observed
in T. ofcinale, the biosynthesis and metabolism of -sitosterol and
-amyrin by incorporating radioactive mevalonic acid. Akashi
et al. (1994) identied the production of oleane and ursane acids
as major triterpenoids, together with -and -amyrin in callus
cultures and dedifferentiated tissue of this species, while Komine
et al. (1996) puried squalene synthase from its cell cultures,
which is involved in the production of terpenoids such as oleanes
and ursanes. Recently, Kim et al. (2009) studied in vitro the effect
of growth regulators in the synthesis of avonoids, in addition to
their action on the gibberellins and on the salicylic acid content in
their organs. Jamshieed et al. (2010) tested the micropropagation
of T. ofcinale from two different sites, and indicate that the
accumulation of esculin responds to hormone concentration and
culture age.
3.4.3. Genetics
As the same of agronomics and biology, genetic research also
responds to the market necessity. Genetics on Taraxacum refers
mainly to the study of the reproductive systems for the improve-
ment of rubber synthesis by tetraploid species selection, and the
mutations for understanding the routes of synthesis and their
functional properties (Krotkov, 1945; Whaley and Bowen, 1947).
After the rubber drive passed, genetic research was focused
mainly in identifying Taraxacum reproduction systems and in the
cytological and karyological characteristics of this genus.
Regarding the bioactive compounds synthesis, Bae et al. (2005)
modied the metabolic pathways of T. platycarpum using Agro-
bacterium tumefaciens to introduce the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-
methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR), which controls the synth-
esis of isoprenoids. These authors stated a transformation protocol
in order to increase synthesis of high commercial value metabo-
lites. Mahesh and Jeyachandran (2011) induced hairy roots cul-
tures from explants of T. ofcinale transformed with Agrobacterium
Fig. 5. Trends on scientic literature related to herbal medicine, bioactive compounds and Taraxacum (Considering Scopus access under the keywords herbal medicine,
bioactive compounds and Taraxacum between 1995 and 2014).
rhizogenes, in order to promote the production of sesquiterpene
lactones, which accumulated more of these compounds than
untransformed wild species. Post et al. (2012) studied transgenic
plants of Taraxacum brevicorniculatum (syn. of T. kok-saghyz) for
gene expression of enzymes associated with the synthesis of
rubber to understand the production of rubber versus the accu-
mulation of triterpenes and inulin.
3.5. Main perspectives on Taraxacum species as a medicinal plant
Traditional medicine was almost the only way to relieve and
treat diseases for centuries, but the industrial revolution estab-
lished the use of the synthetic pharmaceuticals similar to natural
drugs, mainly due to its relatively low cost of production and high
productivity. However, traditional medicine still plays a major role
in primary health and in developed countries. Also, the increasing
interest in healthy lifestyles has given rise to natural medicine
therapeutics based on plants. Major pharmaceutical companies are
renewing their interest in plants as new sources of phytother-
apeutic agents to meet these demands. A literature prole of
research regarding bioactive compounds and herbal medicine is
shown in Fig. 5.
Documents on herbal medicine have increased signicantly in
the last 30 years, responding to an also increasing demand for
natural products derived from healthy living trends. Scientic
publications associated with herbal medicine and publications
associated with bioactive compounds show similar trends com-
paring with articles related to Taraxacum, suggesting the impor-
tance that this plant has shown currently within the Phytotherapy
research. This, in addition to the research conducted so far,
indicates the potential for the commercial use of its by-products,
either for commercialization of the wild plant or for its prepara-
tions and extracts as pharmaceutical products.
3.5.1. Selection of species for further studies
Only a small fraction of known species have been considered
useful considering all the research areas. A list of all species
identied for the research areas established in this work is
presented in Table 5. This review has identied studies related
to 46 of the more than 2000 species taxonomically identied (52
species reported including also synonyms and illegitimate names)
some of them distributed worldwide (e.g. T. ofcinale, T. erythros-
permum) and others conned to a specic region (e.g. T. coreanum,
T. mongolicum). At least 22 species have been claimed with
medicinal properties due to their traditional uses, 20 species have
been pharmacologically researched for validation studies, 27
species have been biochemically studied but only 3 species have
been involved in biotechnological research (agronomy, biology
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262 257

and/or genetics). The research carried out on the Taraxacum genus
comprises less than 1% of the total species identied, indicating a
great potential for discovering more uses and properties of this
plant. Furthermore, no clear relationship was observed between
species mentioned in oral tradition and those species that have
been biochemical and pharmacologically studied.
Considering the different species of Taraxacum studied until
now, the correct identication of the valid names is an important
issue in the nal results comparison. Most of the research carried
out in ethnopharmacology (see Table 2) includes a complete
identication of the species, while in compounds characterization
research, an important number of studies do not give a complete
identication (see Table 3), also without providing the correspon-
dent voucher. One example of this point is (Zhu et al., 2011), they
studied the RP-HPLC ngerprints of 11 plants in the Taraxacum
genus present in China. Among these 11 plants, 3 pars of them
were synonyms between each other. This means that name
validation needs to be considered previously to the analysis of
the data gathered if different species are being compared, because
results can be duplicated or important information could be
missed or discarded if species synonyms are not properly
identied.
3.5.2. Bioactive compounds identication on raw extracts
Most of the in vitro and in vivo studies have been carried out
using raw extracts of Taraxacum; only very few investigations
using isolated compounds were identied (see Section 3.3).
Regarding the responses to specic isolated compounds, anti-
inammatory activity has been the most studied property of this
genus; this has principally been to elucidate its mode of action, but
also, and to a lesser extent, its proposed antioxidant mechanisms.
Terpenes (mainly lupeol, taraxasterol and luteolin) are the most
cited active compounds in Taraxacum extracts; chicoric acid has
been identied as active due to its antioxidative reactions, and
polysaccharide extracts of Taraxacum have been stated as anti-
microbial agents. Although research into this area began around
20 years ago, the last 10 years have seen increased relevancy given

Table 5
Taraxacum species in the scientic literature by research areas considered in this investigation. (Accepted species names are presented after validation by The Plant List.)
n
Exclusively for natural rubber and inulin production.

Species Research eld

Eth-ph. Ph. Com. Agr. Gen. Biol.

T. alpinum (Unresolved) x x
T. androssovii Schischk. x
T. antungense Kitag. (Syn. T. urbanum Kitag.) x
T. asiaticum Dahlst. (Syn. T. falcilobum Kitag.) x
T. bessarabicum (Hornem.) Hand. Mazz. x
T. bicorne Dahlst. x
T. campylodes G. E. Haglund (Syn. T. ofcinale F. H. ex. Wigg.) x x x x x x
T. ceratophorum (Ledeb.) DC. x
T. coreanum Nakai x x x
T. cyprium H. Lindb. x x
T. dissectum (Ledeb.) Ledeb. x x
T. disseminatum G.E. Haglund x
T. erythrospermum Andrz. ex Besser (Syn. T. laevigatum (Willd.) DC.) x x x
T. farinosum Hausskn. & Bornm. ex Hand. Mazz. x x
T. fedtschenkoi Hand. Mazz. x
T. formosanum Kitam x x
T. gracilens Dahlst. x
T. hallaisanense Nakai x x
T. hybernum Steven x
T. japonicum Koidz. x x
T. kok-saghyz L.E. Rodin. (Syn. T. brevicorniculatum Korol)n x x x x
T. lamprolepis Kitag. x
T. macrocarpum H. Persson x
T. macrolepium Schischk. x
T. megalorrhizon (Forssk.) Hand.-Mazz. x x
T. mongolicum (A) (Syn. T. erythopodium Kitag.) x x x
T. sonchoides (D. Don) Sch. Bip. (Syn. T. montanum) x
T. obovatum (Willd.) DC x x x
T. palustre (Lyons) Symons (Syn T. palustre var. vulgare LAM) x x
T. panalpinum Soest. x
T. phaleratum G.E. Haglund x
T. platycarpum Dahlst. x x x x
T. platycarpum subsp. hondoense (Nakai ex H.Koidz.) Morita (Syn. T. hondoense Nakai ex. H. Koidz.) x
T. pyropappum Boiss. & Reut. x
T. rubicundum (Dahlst.) Dahlst. x
T. scaturiginosum G.E. Haglund x
T. serotinum (Waldst. & Kit.) Fisch. x
T. sinicum Kitag. x x
T. mongoliforme R. Doll (Syn. T. sinomongolicum Kitag.) x
T. siphonantum X.D.Sun & al. x
T. stenolepium Hand. Mazz. x
T. tibetatum Hand. Mazz. x
T. stevenii (Spreng.) DC. (Syn. T. crepidiforme DC.) x
T. udum Jord. x x
T. ussuriense Kom. (Syn. T. liaotungense Kitag. and T. ohwianum Kitam.) x x
T. wallichii DC. x

Eth-Ph.: Ethno pharmacology; Ph.: Pharmacology; Com.: Biochemical composition; Agr.: Agronomy; Gen.: Genetics; Biol: Biology.
258 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
to research on the action mechanisms of dandelion extracts,
indicating that there is still an ample need for investigation;
indeed, only a small fraction of its properties is currently being
studied.
The use of extracts makes it difcult to establish whether the
effect of the extract is given by a particular compound or
represents a synergy between different compounds present in it.
Nevertheless, the use of an extract instead of pure compounds
makes the investigation more accessible, because the bioactive
compounds in the extract generally have low yields and its
isolation and purication make the research more intensive in
time and cost. On the other hand, studies using extracts can be
assumed as parallel with traditional consumption of Taraxacum,
for instance, animals can be fed ad libitum with leaves or infusions.
The use the extracts for in vitro and in vivo studies is not sufcient
to establish a clear mode of pharmacological action because of the
lack of knowledge of how a specic compound or the synergy of
them in the extract is associated with a particular effect or
response. So far there are no studies on the synergy between
compounds present in Taraxacum extracts or between this plant
and others in herbal preparations against diseases, even though
several preparations have been tested on humans and animals.
Characterization of raw extracts and the isolation/purication
of bioactive compounds will be determinant in the success of
establishing Taraxacum as a potential source of these compounds
in a molecular farming sense, or by validating its use in herbal
medicine as a natural drug source. In both cases, Taraxacum will be
positioned as an interesting plant for further biotechnology
investigations, which could turn the research in this genus into a
more commercial approach.
3.5.3. Pharmacological research
Despite the wide range of diseases that are traditionally treated
with dandelion, only a fraction of its pharmacological activities of
Taraxacum has been studied in vitro or in vivo (either in articial
systems or in cell lines and tissues, mice, rats and rabbits) and an even
smaller fraction has been studied in clinical trials (as presented in
Section 3.3, Table 4. For further details, see Sweeney et al. (2005),
Schtz et al. (2006), and Gonzlez-Castejn et al. (2012)). Even though
in vivo studies depend on previous activity determined in vitro, the
importance of in vivo research lies in the fact that in vivo activity is the
main predictor of clinical usefulness and/or toxicity effects in plant
extracts, and for establishing the potential of plant extracts for further
clinical studies. Specically, human trials are the last step in establish-
ing the commercial use of a natural or synthetic remedy. In the US, the
process of demonstrating drug safety and efcacy of a new pharma-
ceutical takes approximately 15 years, and costs an estimated $500
million; only a few research companies are willing to fully invest the
time and money necessary to satisfy the FDA requirements (Sharma et
al., 2010). These same authors also indicate that there is a lack of
common standards and appropriate methods for evaluating Traditional
Medicine that ensure its safety, efcacy, and quality. Furthermore, more
data generation is needed to assess efcacy than to assess safety of
herbal medicines. For proof of efcacy, clinical trials have become the
gold standard to the majority of interested parties. In fact, it has been
argued that, unless a proper study has been conducted on human
subjects, no pertinent conclusion on the efcacy and/or safety of a
herbal medicine can be drawn. This indicates that the introduction of
Taraxacum as a medicinal plant in the natural drugs market may not be
possible while more clinical trials are not developed or studies under
standardized conditions are not conducted.
3.5.4. Biotechnology research
Nowadays, this plant is still managed as a natural medication
inserted in the market only by the popular knowledge, so other
biotechnological approaches need to be included in order to take
full advantage of the characteristics of each species of this genus.
This indicates that there is a wide eld of study based on new
technologies that will allow the establishment of Taraxacum as an
important commercial alternative source of these bioactive com-
pounds in a reliable and reproducible manner.
Although dandelion has the undisputed presence of commonly
interesting compounds for the treatment of several diseases,
especially triterpenes, phenolics and avonoids, there is a lack of
industrial (or commercial) interest for the search of alternatives to
the traditional sources of these compounds. This limits the study
of Taraxacum to the research only for support its pharmacological
properties, but does not give it a real advantage over other plants
for its use on a larger scale. The use of Taraxacum as a source of
bioactive compounds is still underestimated, as there is scarce
research on how to improve the production or the quality of these
compounds. Furthermore, scarce research has been done to
increase the plant yield, leaving aside the further use of this plant
as a commercial source of nutraceuticals for human and animal
consumption. In this sense, developing new technologies or new
approaches to increase yields of bioactive compounds in Taraxacum
turns it into an interesting platform given the extensive knowledge
about its metabolism and composition, with the enormous advantage
that the plant is available worldwide. Approaches as genetic, agro-
nomic and biological research can be used for a global understanding
on how Taraxacum can be converted into an interesting source of high
value bioactive compounds.
It can be expected that after its medicinal properties are stated
at different levels (in vitro, in vivo, clinical trials, etc.), biotechno-
logical studies will be the last step in the establishment of this
plant as a validated herbal medicine or as a source of compounds
of high commercial interest.
4. Conclusions
The information gathered in this investigation indicates that
Taraxacum is a plant widely known for its pharmacological proper-
ties, which had been supported by a number of scientic studies
(in vitro and in vivo) related to its composition (mainly terpenes
and phenolic compounds) and its pharmacological properties. This
allows dandelion to be considered as a true "medicinal plant" and
having the potential to be a commercial source for a variety of
compounds of pharmacological interest. Although Taraxacum is
increasing its importance in herbal medicine, it is still regarded as
a traditionally used plant with a low production level and house-
hold consumption.
Despite the extensive knowledge that exists on Taraxacum on
different approaches, only few efforts have been focused on obtaining
medicinal phytocompounds. While there is a growing interest to study
Taraxacum as a source for bioactive compounds for alimentary and
chemical industries due to its rubber and sugar contents, each
Taraxacum species has been considered differently in its capabilities.
T. ofcinale, T. coreanum, T. platycarpum and T. mongolicum are
considered species with greater applicability in food, cosmetics and
medicine, while T. kok-saghyz have been only considered as a source of
natural rubber and inulin. Most of the efforts related to the cultivation
and performance of Taraxacum are for the production of rubber, a
compound widely used in industrial applications or for its elimination
as a weed, while few studies in this area are related to improve
bioactive prole of Taraxacum.
The number of different species taxonomically identied com-
pared with the number of those actually studied in their biochem-
ical or medicinal properties, and the presence of important
bioactive compounds in Taraxacum extracts that are used in food,
cosmetics and medicine, indicates the enormous potential that
 M. Martinez et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 169 (2015) 244262
exists for qualitative and quantitative improvements in Taraxacum
research. Considering the vast knowledge on Taraxacum, its
cultivation, medicinal properties and yields could be inuenced
directly, nally allowing this plant to be considered as a relevant
stakeholder within the industry of herbal medicine and/or
nutraceuticals.
Acknowledgments
This work has been supported by InnovaChile CORFO Code FCR-CSB
09CEII-6991, a doctoral fellowship awarded by Pontical Catholical Uni-
versity of Valparaso-Chile, and a grant of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur
Frderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., Germany (Project FCR-CSB
09CEII-6991).
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