A German university research group has shown that at least in petri dishes, substances obtained from dandelion leaves prevent spike proteins from harming human cells by binding to ACE2 receptors.
Grab the PDF while you can at: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959v1.full.pdf
and see the abstract and authorship credits at: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959v1.article-info
Anons who work with herbal medicines might be able to tell us if there is an effective way to get the goodies from dandelion leaves (some of which I have bolded below) at home - for example, can we just steep some dandelion leaves in hot water and drink the 'tea' it produces? Notably, these researchers did not use the flower or stems or roots of the plant -- just the leaves.
Summary from the article:
""Here we report on the efficacy of common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) to block protein- protein interaction of spike S1 to the human ACE2 cell surface receptor. This could be shown for the original spike D614, but also for its mutant forms (D614G, N501Y, and mix of K417N, E484K, N501Y) in human HEK293-hACE2 kidney and A549-hACE2-TMPRSS2 lung cells…
"The common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) belongs to the plant family Asteraceae, subfamily Cichorioideae with many varieties and microspecies. It is a perennial herb, native distributed in the warmer temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere inhabiting fields, roadsides and ruderal sites. T. officinale is consumed as vegetable food, but also employed in European phytotherapy to treat disorders from the liver, gallbladder, digestive tract or rheumatic diseases. Modern herbal monographs consider the plant usage as safe and have evaluated the empiric use of T. officinale with a positive outcome. Therapeutic indications for the use of T. officinale are listed in the German Commission E, the European Scientific Cooperative for Phytotherapy (ESCOP) monographs (11, 12) as well as in the British Herbal Medicine Association (13). The plant contains a wide array of phytochemicals including terpenes (sesquiterpene lactones such as taraxinic acid and triterpenes), phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and coumarins) and also polysaccharides (14).
The predominant phenolic compound was found to be chicoric acid (dicaffeoyltartaric acid). The other were mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acids, **tartaric acid **derivatives, flavone and flavonol glycosides. The roots, in addition to these compound classes, contain high amounts of inulin (15). Dosage forms include aqueous decoction and infusion, expressed juice of fresh plant, hydroalcoholic tincture as well as coated tablets from dried extracts applied as monopreparations (16) but also integral components of pharmaceutical remedies. Our research was conducted using water-based extracts from plant leaves. We found that leaf extracts efficiently blocked spike protein or its mutant forms to the ACE2 receptor, used in either pre- or post-incubation, and that high molecular weight compounds account for this effect…"
Young dandelion leaves are used in salads all the time. More tender and less bitter than older plants
Does the age of the leaf matter for tea usage?
Most likely, the older the leaf the more aromatic compounds, which is the medicinal stuff. Like the terpenes. The young fresh leaves are tastier because those medicinal parts generally are bitter or rank.
Did you ever try adding milk? It helps bind the tannins in regular black tea.
good question! I'd like to know the answer to that too.
I thought it was interdasting that this study, although undertaken at a German university, was spearheaded by two Vietnamese doctors. Vietnam has a strong tradition of herbal medicine that goes back well over a thousand years.
I used to eat the all the time. The older ones can be used to just boil them to remove the bitterness. And the yellow flower buds can be deep fried like mushrooms. Roll em up in some flour etc .