After a long winter of heavy foods, dandelions are a welcome sight. The leaves make for delicious fresh spring salads, and the flowers make a tasty dandelion wine. Dandelion roots are where the real medicine lies, and a dandelion tincture can preserve the herb for use year-round.
What is Dandelion Root Tincture Used for?
Dandelion is a well-known digestive herb, and a few drops can be taken before meals to prevent gas and after meals for heartburn. It’s also known as a cleansing herb, that supports healthy liver and kidney function. The same cleansing action is used as a blood purifier, that can help reduce blood cholesterol.
As a gentle diuretic, dandelion tincture is used as a treatment for UTIs and water retention.
Herbalists also prescribe dandelion tincture to promote healthy clear skin. Traditionally, it’s also been used to help build energy and endurance, which can be helpful after a long winter indoors.
According to the herbalist Julie Bruton-Seal, dandelion tincture is used for:
- Skin Problems
- Sluggish Liver
- Constipation
- Urinary Problems
- Fluid Retention
- Arthritis
- Gout
- Hangovers
- Chronic Illness
Dandelion Tincture Dosage
The book Backyard Medicine offers detailed recommendations for dandelion tincture dosage:
- General Health Maintenence ~ 1/2 teaspoon twice daily.
- Acute Skin Eruptions ~ 10 drops in water frequently throughout the day.
- Arthritis, gout, eczema, psoriasis & liver trouble ~ 1 teaspoon 3 times a day in water.
- Indigestion ~ 10 drops in water every hour until resolved.
How to Make Dandelion Tincture
While you can make a whole herb dandelion tincture, I like to save the leaves for spring salads and eat them directly. The roots are tougher and are best used as a tincture.
Ideally, harvest dandelion roots in the early spring, before the plants have sent up their flowers. The dandelion plant calls on energy and nutrient reserves in the roots to form a flower, so it’s best to harvest the root while those nutrients are still in place.
If you’ve missed the season, you can buy dried dandelion root online.
Start by digging the dandelion roots. As soon as the snow melts off and temperatures warm up, dandelion rosettes pop up everywhere. Just keep your eyes open, and you’ll find them all over.
The leaves green up before lawn grass, so they can be easy to spot even on a lawn. The garden is a great place to look since you’ll likely be hoeing them out later.
In light or sandy soil, you can pull the dandelion roots directly. If you have tough clay soil like we do, then you’ll need a trowel or spade to dig them out. Once you have a good-sized handful, bring them inside for washing and chopping.
At this point, you can just chop the whole plants, leaves and all, or you can save the leaves for salads and just use the roots. If you’re harvesting them in the very early spring, the leaves are still tender and perfect for fresh eating.
These make young dandelion leaves make the very best salads, and it seems a shame to waste them in a tincture. Either way, it’s up to you.
I’ve removed the leaves and saved just the cleaned roots for my tincture.
Chop the dandelion roots into small pieces.
This increases their surface area and will allow the alcohol to do a better job extracting nutrients and medicinal constituents from the roots.
Pack the chopped roots into a mason jar, and cover with alcohol. Ideally, the jar is about 2/3 full of fresh roots, and then it’s filled to within an inch of the top with vodka.
I like to use Smirnoff for my homemade tinctures because it’s relatively cheap, but not so cheap that the tincture is hard to take. For your own use, choose the cheapest vodka that you’d voluntarily drink.
Allow the tincture to infuse in a cool dark place, giving it a shake anytime you remember. The dandelion root tincture needs at least a month to infuse, but ideally, 2-3 months to gain full potency. If you need the tincture sooner than that, you can buy prepared dandelion tincture online to tide you over while your own dandelion tincture is infusing.
Once the tincture is finished, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer, and store the tincture in amber dropper bottles.
Jessi
Can I make the tincture from dried tea leaves like from a tea bag?
Ashley Adamant
Yes you can. Tea bag teas tend to be very fine inside the bag, and you might have trouble filtering it out though. Either leave it in the tea bag or filter the finished tincture through a coffee filter at the end. You’d also need A LOT of tea bags to make even a small quantity of tincture. It would be a lot more cost effective to just find dried plant material in bulk, and many natural grocery stores have a bulk herb section these days where you can get a whole jar of dried herbal material for just a few dollars. But to answer your question, yes, of course, you can use tea bags if you have them and you want to make a tincture. Just make sure they don’t have other additives of any kind.
Jennifer
Alcohol does not mix with my medicine. What else can I use besides alcohol?
Ashley Adamant
Good question! You can also make tinctures with vegetable glycerine or apple cider vinegar. Same process, just substitute either of those for the alcohol.
saoinas
How long is the tincture good for once stored properly?
Ashley Adamant
In theory, the alcohol should keep it from “spoiling” indefinitely, but I’ve read that tinctures lose potency after about a year.
Cindy
Do you know if the inulin in dandelion roots comes over in the alcohol? I cannot digest inulin that is in most roots (a lot in dandelion). I realize I would only be taking a small amount with tincture. Thanks. Fantastic blog!
Ashley Adamant
You know, I didn’t know the answer to that…but I did a bit of research and inulin is water-soluble (but I can’t seem to find if it’s alcohol soluble). The alcohol you use in tinctures isn’t 100% alcohol, so there is water in it, which means the inulin will likely be present in the tincture.
Kelly
Is there any way to use the roots after the tincture is all finished?
Thanks much!
Ashley Adamant
Good question. I’ve tried to use things after tinctures, but I’ve never been really satisfied with the results. I tried making chutney from strawberries in a strawberry-infused vodka, but as you might imagine, all the flavor infused into the alcohol and it tasted like nothing (except alcohol). Similar results with other things. I imagine you could cook them, but just about all the good stuff (except perhaps fiber) has been extracted into the tincture and the resulting roots will taste very strongly of alcohol.
Sasha
Hello. After harvesting could I wait a day before I prepare it in the jar?
Ashley Adamant
Yes.
Trudy Ray
What is the tincture used for and is the vinegar based tincture as effective and does it last as long as the alcohol infused?
Cheryl Green
How many drops would be a good start and then how many for maintenance would you suggest. Thank you kindly.
Cheryl.
Zandra Peterson
Can you make a tincture from the dandelion flowers?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, but I imagine the medicinal value may be different? Honestly I don’t know if or how it would be different, though I’ve seen many people make dandelion cordial by basically making a tincture of the flowers and adding sugar. The medicinal value is unclear, but I bet that tastes good.
Angie Bolingbroke
Am learning about natural remedies and just found your site…love it! These instructions are the most clear I’ve seen for tinctures! Quick question, though…other resources have said to be sure to dry plant materials to ensure no water contaminates tincture or oil infusions, is that a concern with the dandelion roots here?
Administrator
Your tinctures can be made using either fresh or dried plant matter.
Gabriel
Hi I made a dandelion tincture, it’s a few weeks old, it has a milky substance at the bottome of the jar, it’s a little cloudy, is that normal? Or has it gone bad?
Cheers
Ashley Adamant
I believe that’d be inulin, which is a type of starch in the dandelion root. I’ve never had it settle in the jar like that, but I’ve read that others have seen it. To the best of my knowledge, it’s normal.
Peter
Can you over infuse a tincture? I’ve had one brewing for 6 months. Is it still usable?
Ashley Adamant
Yup, still usable. I’ve forgotten a few like that, and they’re still just fine.
Nester
Hi is dandelion tincture safe to take during pregnancy if so what is the dosage
Ashley Adamant
I’m definitely not qualified to answer that. I’d say you’d have to talk to your doctor/herbalist/midwife for an answer.
Google suggests that dandelion tincture is not contraindicated during pregnancy, and I found an article supporting its use here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/dandelion
“There are no reports in the literature of dandelion being either safe or contraindicated during pregnancy. Herbalist-midwives may recommend it taken alone in small doses (1 to 15 drops) as a tincture in water, or this same dose added to half a glass of ginger ale or lemon-flavored carbonated water.”
Still, as I said, I’m not a doctor and you should do your own research or talk to a medical professional for a qualified answer.
Susie
I have read that dandelion tinctures may help to raise low blood pressure. If I have high blood pressure should I avoid this tincture ?
Ashley Adamant
I’m definitely not a medical professional and can’t advise you at all. At least according to a quick google search, it says dandelion lowers blood pressure? At least this article: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dandelion-benefits
But you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, I’d say you should ask your doctor or talk to a herbalist.
Iris
How do you make sure contaminated, like along the road or in my lawn, are gone before I use any part to eat or make tincture?
Administrator
You really want to avoid foraging near roadways if possible. The further you can get from the road, the better. If you are uphill, there is less risk of contamination from runoff. If you are foraging in your lawn, just be sure that you are not foraging from an area that has been treated with chemicals and you may not want to forage in an area where animals frequently urinate.
Helen
Hello
can i use brandy instead of vodka? just that i have loads in the house already
thanks
Ashley Adamant
Yup! That works just fine.
Melissa Kelly
What is the dosage?
Administrator
You can scroll to the top of the article and under the second heading titled “DANDELION TINCTURE DOSAGE” you will see several suggestions that came from the Backyard Medicine book.
Bonita
When aging the tincture should it be in a cool dark place or can it be on a sunny warm window sill?
Administrator
You will want to keep it in a cool, dark place.
Kandice
I have strained my tincture several times but it still separates and then is white on the bottom???
Administrator
This is simply the inulin from the dandelion root. This doesn’t always happen but is completely normal. I would just give it a good shake before using.
Scott Jordan
What percentage vodka should you use
Administrator
Standard vodka is 80 proof or 40% alcohol.
Ann
I have seen people using hot water 1st over the dry roots,followed by the alcohol (especially wellness mama)
I plan on making the tincture out of the whole plant,but in the dry form as I don’t have any access to organic dandelion around me.Any idea about what percentage root vs leaves should be used?
Also, should I add hot water and let steep for a bit before adding the vodka? Some people say that water extracts certain things from roots that alcohol alone can’t (not sure about this as 40% alcohol already has water)
I love drinking teas,but I can’t make my kids drink them,plus it would be a lot of cups a day.
Thank you.
Administrator
It really depends on what benefits you are looking for. Alcohol can extract most constituents except for minerals and trace elements. So if you aren’t looking for those specific constituents then a simple alcohol extraction would be fine.
Emily
Beautiful post, thank you. May I suggest using organic vodka wherever possible. Yes, it’s much more expensive than the big, mainstream (and cheap) brands, but the last thing you want in your medicine is pesticide residues, which non-organic alcohols all have. Plus we want to put our dollars where our hearts are, and take care of the earth by supporting sustainable agricultural practices.
Administrator
Thank you and that’s a good point. Thanks for sharing.
Gabriela
I just harvest my first Dandelion roots and would like to know if its possible to use 96% grain alcohol diluted in destilated water or combined with veg. glicerin for mske the Tincture.
Administrator
You can definitely use a 96% alcohol and dilute it to the appropriate percentage with distilled water. You can also use vegetable glycerine if you don’t want to use alcohol. If you’re using alcohol then I would just stick to diluting it with water rather than mixing it with the gylcerine.
Carrie
I know I’m late getting to my dandelions (it’s almost the solstice!) but a sprained ankle got the best of me most of the spring. I’m wondering if the roots I harvested are ok if they have hollowish centers with what looks like bone marrow (!) inside. Thanks from southern VT!
Administrator
If you’re wanting to harvest the roots, then it would probably be best to wait until fall.