This section is from the "A Practical Treatise On Materia Medica And Therapeutics" book, by Roberts Bartholow. Also available from Amazon: A Practical Treatise On Materia Medica And Therapeutics
Dandelion. The root, gathered in the autumn, of Taraxacum officinale Weber (Nat. Ord. Compositae). (U. S. P.) Pis-senlit, Fr.; Löwenzahnwurzel, Ger.
Extract of taraxacum. Dose, gr. v—Э j.
Infusion of taraxacum (oz ij—Oj). Dose, oz ss— 3 ij. (Not official.)
Fluid extract of taraxacum. Dose, Composition.—According to Kromayer, taraxacum contains tarax-acine, an amorphous, intensely bitter principle, and a crystalline substance, taraxacerine. Nothing is definitely known as to the action of these substances.
Taraxacum possesses the properties of a simple bitter, in that it promotes the appetite and digestion. It has been long held, both popularly and professionally, to possess the power to promote the flow of bile. Recent investigations have demonstrated the inaccuracy of these opinions. It is a mild laxative, and as such, doubtless, may cause by reflex stimulation an emptying of the gallbladder. It is a diuretic, although not a very active one. It is still prescribed as a laxative in catarrhal jaundice, in ascites from hepatic disease, and in dyspepsia and indigestion associated with torpor of the liver. By German physicians, muriate of ammonia and dandelion are frequently associated together in the treatment of the affections above named. Taraxacum is occasionally used as a diuretic in dropsy, but its utility is very limited.
The fluid extract of taraxacum is a good vehicle for the administration of such remedies as the muriate of ammonia and quinine, the taste of which it somewhat covers.
 
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