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Cholesterol gallstones represent a significant global health burden. Current treatments, including surgery and oral dissolution agents, are often invasive or limited by side effects and variable efficacy. This study investigated the in vitro gallstone-dissolving efficacy of a natural combination-sesame oil (SO), extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), psyllium extract (PE), and dandelion extract (DE)-compared to the pharmaceutical agent Rowachol®. In a randomized in vitro study, seventy cholesterol-dominant human gallstones were assigned to seven groups receiving either individual agents, multi-component combinations, or Rowachol® (control). Two prespecified endpoints were assessed under standardized simulated bile conditions at 48 h (T1), 96 h (T2), and 144 h (T3): dissolution rate (DR, %; weight loss) and cumulative cholesterol release (mg). Statistical analyses compared groups across time and explored potential multi-component interactions. The four-component regimen (G6: PE + DE+SO+EVOO) showed the greatest efficacy at T3, achieving DR = 92.57% ± 4.2 and cholesterol release = 114.48 ± 4.2 mg, significantly exceeding Rowachol® (39.71% ± 1.9; 42.57 ± 1.9 mg; p < 0.001) and all other groups. Effects were time-dependent, with progressive separation from T1 to T3. Key bioactive compounds-oleic acid, taraxacin, arabinoxylan, and linoleic acid-showed strong positive correlations with dissolution outcomes (r = +0.76 to +0.94). A regression model identified these compounds as primary efficacy predictors, accounting for 94% of the observed variance (adjusted R² = 0.94). Under short-term, controlled in vitro conditions, the SO+EVOO+PE + DE combination achieved a ~ 2.3-fold higher dissolution rate than Rowachol® at 144 h. These findings constitute mechanistic, hypothesis-generating evidence that clarifies how dissolution may be enhanced ex vivo. Confirmation in well-designed in-vivo models-followed by clinical studies to evaluate safety, dosing, and effectiveness-is required before any patient-care application.

Dandelion (Taraxacum genus) is a perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family. As a well-known and extensively studied genus, dandelion comprises numerous species. Some species have been widely used in both complementary and alternative medicine to clear heat, detoxify, activate blood circulation, dispel stasis, and discharge urine. Multiple pharmacological studies have highlighted its therapeutic potential, including anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-rheumatic activities. Furthermore, bioactive compounds associated with these effects include sesquiterpenoids, phenolic compounds, essential oils, saccharides, flavonoids, sphingolipids, triterpenoids, sterols, coumarins, etc. Based on recent studies about the Taraxacum genus, the present review critically evaluates the current state of dandelion utilization and summarizes the significant roles of dandelion and its constituents in different diseases. We also focus on the reported phytology, chemical composition, pharmacology, and toxicity of dandelion, along with the main possible action mechanisms behind their therapeutic activities. Meanwhile, the challenges and future directions of the Taraxacum genus are also prospected in this review, thus highlighting its pharmaceutical research and practical clinical applications.

Iodine is a crucial microelement for humans, and iodine deficiencies may be reduced through the consumption of iodine-enriched plants. The possible effects of exogenous bromine regarding plant growth, iodine biofortification efficiency, and the chemical composition of cultivated plants have not been previously evaluated. A two-year pot cultivation of dandelion was conducted, applying KBr and KIO3 in the following combinations: (1) Control, (2) 10 µM I, (3) 50 µM I, (4) 10 µM Br, (5) 50 µM Br, (6) 10 µM I + 10 µM Br, and (7) 50 µM I + 50 µM Br. An increased plant biomass indicated the low toxicity of the tested doses of I and Br for dandelion. However, a slightly increased antioxidant capacity in the leaves and roots and higher proline content in the leaves may suggest a potential stress effect of iodine and/or bromine accumulation for plants. The Br:I ratios observed in biofortified leaves and roots indicate the need to monitor bromine levels in soils or substrates used for plant cultivation in order to reduce the risk of excessive Br contents in iodine-enriched plants.

Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) is a perennial flowering plant of the Asteraceae family that has spread globally and is well-known for its traditional uses. The aim of this work is to provide a detailed review of scientific literature on the genus Taraxacum from the last two decades, with particular emphasis on the biological and pharmacological characteristics of dandelions. The traditional use of Taraxacum species and their potential use in medicine are assessed. In addition, individual papers describing principal pathways and molecules modulated by Taraxacum in antitumoral, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities are presented. This review of phytochemical studies reveals that dandelions contain a wide range of bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, phytosterols, flavonoids, carotenoids, terpene, and coumarins, whose biological activities are actively explored in various areas of human health, some constituents having synergistic activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. The study provides a screening of Taraxacum sp. chemical composition, an assessment of the main pharmacological properties, and a description of relevant studies supporting the use of dandelion for its particularly valuable and diversified therapeutic potential in different diseases.

Herbs derived from Taraxacum genus have been used as traditional medicines and food supplements in China for hundreds of years. Taraxacum mongolicum is a famous traditional Chinese medicine derived from Taraxacum genus for the treatment of inflammatory disorders and viral infectious diseases. In the present study, the bioactive phenolic chemical profiles and antioxidant activities of flowers, leaves, and roots of Taraxacum mongolicum were investigated. Firstly, a high performance liquid chromatography method combined with segmental monitoring strategy was employed to simultaneously determine six bioactive phenolic compounds in Taraxacum mongolicum samples. Moreover, multivariate statistical analysis, including hierarchical clustering analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis were performed to compare and discriminate different parts of Taraxacum mongolicum based on the quantitative data. The results showed that three phenolic compounds, caftaric acid, caffeic acid, and luteolin, could be regarded as chemical markers for the differences of flowers, leaves, and roots of Taraxacum mongolicum. In parallel, total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities of different parts of Taraxacum mongolicum were also evaluated and compared. It is clear that Taraxacum mongolicum had antioxidant properties, and the antioxidant capacities of different parts of Taraxacum mongolicum in three antioxidant assays showed a similar tendency: Flowers ≈ leaves > roots, which revealed a positive relationship with their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Furthermore, to find the potential antioxidant components of Taraxacum mongolicum, the latent relationships of the six bioactive phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of Taraxacum mongolicum were investigated by Pearson correlation analysis. The results indicated caftaric acid and caffeic acid could be the potential antioxidant ingredients of Taraxacum mongolicum. The present work may facilitate better understanding of differences of bioactive phenolic constituents and antioxidant activities of different parts of Taraxacum mongolicum and provide useful information for utilization of this herbal medicine.

Due to the interest in the potential pharmacological application of dandelion, the chemical constituents and activities of Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz were studied. Box–Behnken response surface methodology was employed to optimize the protocol for extraction of flavonoid from dandelion. The molecular structures of different flavonoid compounds were acquired and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Several major flavonoid compounds were isolated and purified, namely, hesperetin-5′-O-β-rhamnoglucoside, hesperetin-7-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-glucoside, baicalein, hyperseroside, which were extracted for the first time from dandelion. Hesperetin-5′-O-β-rhamnoglucoside was identified as a new type of flavonoid that had never reported in the literature. This new flavonoid has outstanding antioxidant activity, as shown by its IC 50 value (8.72 mg/L) for scavenging DPPH free radicals. The determination of the structure-related antioxidant activities could be interpreted based on DFT calculations. As such, we have not only illustrated the rich flavonoid contents in Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz , but also revealed new types of flavonoid compounds in dandelion in terms of structure and antioxidant properties.

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of phenolic acids and flavonoids in a medicinal Chinese herb Taraxacum formosanum Kitam. Initially, both phenolic acids and flavonoids were extracted with 50% ethanol in a water-bath at 60 °C for 3 h and eventually separated into acidic fraction and neutral fraction by using a C18 cartridge. A total of 29 compounds were separated within 68 min by employing a Gemini C18 column and a gradient solvent system of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Based on the retention behavior as well as absorption and mass spectra, 19 phenolic acids and 10 flavonoids were identified and quantified in T. formosanum, with the former ranging from 14.1 μg/g to 10,870.4 μg/g, and the latter from 9.9 μg/g to 325.8 μg/g. For further identification of flavonoids, a post-column derivatization method involving shift reagents such as sodium acetate or aluminum chloride was used and the absorption spectral characteristics without or with shift reagents were compared. An internal standard syringic acid was used for quantitation of phenolic acids, whereas (±) naringenin was found suitable for quantitation of flavonoids. The developed LC-MS/MS method showed high reproducibility, as evident from the relative standard deviation (RSD) values for intra-day and inter-day variability being 1.0–6.8% and 2.0–7.7% for phenolic acids and 3.7–7.4% and 1.5–8.1% for flavonoids, respectively, and thus may be applied for simultaneous determination of phenolic acids and flavonoids in Chinese herb and nutraceuticals.

Natural rubber (NR) is in high demand due to its excellent elasticity and physical and mechanical properties, but production is limited and NR is in short supply. There is an urgent need to find new alternative rubber sources. Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS), as a green, renewable, widely planted and high content rubber producing plant, has shown broad application prospects. The extraction process is the key to developing efficient, green, and high-purity Taraxacum kok-saghyz Natural Rubber (TKNR) to replace NR in various applications. In this study, TKS roots were processed through repeated boiling to remove inulin, followed by alkaline treatment with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to isolate lignin and facilitate cell wall disruption. Subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis using pectinase and cellulase enabled the dissolution of root-structure carbohydrates, thereby obtained TKNR. Structural characterization of TKNR was conducted and compared with that of NR. The results showed that the combined alkaline and enzymatic extraction methodology effectively isolates TKNR from TKS roots. Structural analysis reveals that TKNR closely resembles NR, having comparable molecular weight and distribution, crystallinity, and crosslinking networks, with both polymers primarily consisting of cis-1,4-polyisoprene.

Taraxacum officinale has been identified as a potential rare earth elements (REEs) accumulator, making it a promising bioindicator for urban environment. However, the influence of seasonal variation on the bioavailability, transport, and accumulation of REEs in plant tissues remains poorly understood. This knowledge gap is crucial, especially in the context of development of reliable bioindicators for urban pollution and managing urban ecosystems sustainably. The aim of this study was to evaluate seasonal changes in the content and distribution of Sc, Y and 14REEs in soils and dandelion roots and leaves from urban areas. Ten research sites typical for urbanised areas were designated and samples of soils and plants were collected in the spring and autumn season. The assessment of the level of studied elements combined with statistical analysis was performed. Variation in REEs accumulation in soil was found. Due to the lack of heavy industry in the city, the major source of REEs contamination in soils might be related to transportation and local agrotechnical and nutrition treatments. Our research on dandelion showed a decrease in REEs content in roots and leaves during autumn compared to spring. Slightly higher translocation efficiency was observed in autumn, possibly due to the plant’s age and tolerance mechanism.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a common plant worldwide, is used as both a medicine and food. Fermentation is a food processing technology that has many advantages, such as low energy cost, changes in product characteristics, and enhanced product quality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of solid-state fermentation (SSF) on the content, composition and antioxidant activity of dandelion flavonoids. Response surface methodology was used to optimize dandelion fermentation conditions. Under optimized conditions, the maximum flavone concentration was 66.05 ± 1.89 mg/g. The flavonoid content of the crude extract from fermented dandelion (FDF) was 183.72 ± 2.24 mg/g. The flavonoid compounds in the crude extracts were further identified by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 229 flavonoid compounds were identified, and 57 differential flavonoids (including 27 upregulated and 30 downregulated flavonoids) between FDF and the crude extract of unfermented dandelion (DF) were observed, of which 25 were annotated to metabolic pathways. FDF displayed superior antioxidant activity to that of DF in in vitro DPPH radical-scavenging and reducing power assays. The favorable results of our investigation could provide a new way for the exploitation and utilization of dandelion, which could be promising for its application as an antioxidant and functional food additive with flavonoids as ingredients.