Fitoterapia 75 (2004) 760–763

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Short report

The bifidogenic effect of Taraxacum officinale root

I. Trojanovaa, V. Radaa,*, L. Kokoskab, E. Vlkovaa

aDepartment of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Czech University of Agriculture Prague,

Prague 6 Suchdol, Czech RepublicbInstitute of Tropics and Subtropics, Czech University of Agriculture Prague, Prague 6 Suchdol, Czech Republic

Received 1 July 2004; accepted 5 September 2004

Available online 27 October 2004

Abstract

The infusion of dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale) stimulated in vitro the growth of 14 strains

of bifidobacteria. The utilization of oligofructans, glucose, fructose and total saccharides was

determined by enzymatic and phenol-sulfuric methods. Dandelion oligofructans were important

source of carbon and energy for bifidobacteria tested.

D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Taraxacum officinale; Oligofructans; Bifidogenic activity

1. Plant

Taraxacum officinale Weber ex F.H. Wigg (Compositae) roots collected from Prague,

Czech Republic in September 2003. Voucher specimens (Kok 201) authenticated by Dr.

Kokoska have been deposited in the Institute of Tropics and Subtropics of Czech

University of Agriculture Prague.

2. Uses in traditional medicine

As appetite and bile stimulant. The roots accelerate elimination of toxins from the liver

and kidneys. The leaves or roots may also dissolve gallstones [1].

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ress: rada@af.czu.cz (V. Rada).

I. Trojanova et al. / Fitoterapia 75 (2004) 760–763 761

3. Previously isolated classes of constituents

Sesquiterpene lactones, triterpenes, flavonoids, inulin, sesquiterpenoid phytoalexin

[2–4].

4. Tested material

The ground dried dandelion root (30 g) was infused for 20 min in 100 ml of boiling

water. The infusion was filtered and added to the complex broth medium at a concentration

of 10% (v/v).

5. Studied activity

Overnight cultures of bifidobacteria grown in Wilkins-Chalgren broth (Oxoid, UK)

were inoculated to the medium containing tryptone (10 g/l), nutrient broth No. 2 (10 g),

yeast extract (5 g), tween 80 (1 ml), l-cysteine hydrochloride (0.5 g), distilled water (900

ml) and dandelion root infusion (100 ml). All cultures were incubated at 37 8C for 48 h

under anaerobic conditions. Then, the optical density at 620 nm was determined; Wilkins-

Chalgren broth was used as a control medium. Contents of carbohydrates were determined

before and after incubation in all bifidobacterial cultures. The following methods were

used: phenol-sulfuric acid method [5] for total saccharides, fructan assay procedure kit

Table 1

The growth of bifidobacteria in medium with dandelion root infusion

Strain Origin Dandelion root Wilkins-Chalgrena

B. adolescentis 1 CCUG 18 363 1.24F0.06* 1.00F0.02*

B. adolescentis 2 Infant faeces 0.84F0.04* 0.53F0.07*

B. animalis CCUG 24 606 1.21F0.00 0.83F0.03

B. bifidum 1 ATCC 29 521 0.69F0.02* 0.41F0.04*

B. bifidum 2 CCM 3762 0.76F0.07 0.87F0.23

B. breve ATCC 15 700 0.78F0.02 0.77F0.03

B. catenulatum CCUG 18 366 0.73F0.06* 0.61F0.01*

B. infantis ATCC 17 930 0.75F0.07 0.82F0.11

B. longum 1 ATCC 15 707 0.68F0.02 0.89F0.06

B. longum 2 Infant faeces 0.81F0.05* 0.64F0.20*

B. longum 3 Infant faeces 0.80F0.09 0.95F0.01

B. longum 4 Infant faeces 0.90F0.02 0.92F0.02

B. longum 5 Fermented milk product 0.74F0.02* 0.82F0.05*

B. pseudolongum Fermented milk product 0.96F0.01* 1.03F0.03*

ATCC—American Type Culture Collection.

CCM—Czech Collection of Microorganisms.

CCUG—Culture Collection of University Gfteborg.Values are optical density at 620 nm. All values are mean from triplicate determination FS.D.

a Control.* Significant difference ( Pb0.05).

Table 2

Utilization of dandelion root saccharides by bifidobacteria

Sample Total saccharides (g/l) Oligofructans (g/l) Glucose (g/l) Fructose (g/l)

Cultivation medium 13.94 7.90 0.005 1.34

B. adolescentis 1 8.64 4.55 0 1.48

B. adolescentis 2 13.07 4.03 0.005 1.51

B. animalis 12.24 4.73 0 1.15

B. bifidum 1 11.56 6.13 0.0023 0

B. bifidum 2 11.54 7.38 0.0013 0.951

B. breve 12.92 4.60 0 1.42

B. catenulatum 11.48 6.13 0.0053 0.13

B. infantis 10.70 6.53 0 0.605

B. longum 1 11.40 6.90 0 0.26

B. longum 2 11.11 7.37 0.0003 1.69

B. longum 3 11.44 7.80 0 1.08

B. longum 4 10.03 7.03 0 1.48

B. longum 5 12.56 7.30 0 0.92

B. pseudolongum 10.84 7.03 0.003 1.07

All values are means from triplicate determination FS.D.

I. Trojanova et al. / Fitoterapia 75 (2004) 760–763762

(Megazyme, Ireland) for oligofructans and reflectoquant tests (Merck, Germany) for

fructose and glucose.

6. Used microorganisms

The list of bifidobacteria used is shown in Table 1. Strains originated from fermented

milk products and infant faeces were isolated using MTPY agar [6] and identified

according to Ref. [7].

7. Results

All strains were able to grow in the medium with dandelion root infusion (Table 1).

While the growth of six strains was significantly better in the medium with dandelion root

infusion, only two strains grew slightly less intensive in this medium compared to

control—Wilkins-Chalgren broth. The remaining six strains exhibited equivalent growth

in both media. Bifidobacteria utilized dandelion oligofructans in the range from 1% to

49%, 21% in average (Table 2).

8. Conclusions

Bifidobacteria constitute a major part of the human intestinal microflora and have

proved considerable health promoting benefits to the host. Bifidobacteria growth and

activity in the large intestine can be supported by fructooligosaccharides and inulin of

chicory and Jerusalem artichoke origins [8]. As it is shown in this paper, dandelion root

I. Trojanova et al. / Fitoterapia 75 (2004) 760–763 763

infusion contains high quantity of nondigestible oligofructans, which are utilizable by

bifidobacteria. In the future, the prebiotic effect of dandelion root extract should be tested

in in vivo conditions.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grant No. 523/03/H076 of the Grant Agency of Czech

Republic.

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