Dandelion roots are a safe and valuable source of different class natural compounds possessing antioxidant, anticoagulant and anti-platelet activities. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Comparative phytochemical, cytotoxicity, antioxidant and haemostatic studies of Taraxacum officinale root preparations.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21. PMID: 30797873
Dariusz Jedrejek
Although the majority of potentially bioactive components of dandelion root have been described, revealing the presence of hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) and sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), new compounds are still being discovered, an example of which are the recently characterized 4-hydroxyphenylacetate inositol esters (PIEs). In this work, the dandelion root was separated into five preparations (A-E) differing in chemical content. A detailed LC-MS and chemical investigation of dandelion fractions allowed the identification of about 100 phytochemicals, including new compounds for the genus Taraxacum, and the plant kingdom, such as amino acid-SL adducts. In the DPPHtest, two preparations characterized by high content of HCAs (D and E) showed the highest free radical scavenging activity, while other demonstrated weaker action. In turn, in blood plasma, the best overall protective effect against oxidation by HO/Fe was obtained in the presence of preparations A (SL-amino acid adducts enriched fraction) and C (PIEs enriched fraction). A stronger anticoagulant effect was demonstrated for two preparations enriched with HCAs (D and E). None of dandelion root preparations caused the lysis of blood platelets, at all tested range (0.5-50 μg/mL). Our results demonstrate that dandelion roots are a safe and valuable source of different class natural compounds possessing antioxidant, anticoagulant and anti-platelet activities.