For a long time, the milkweed plant has been considered a precious herb used in the treatment of hepatitis. However, if the milkweed plant is used incorrectly to treat hepatitis, it can cause unfortunate consequences that greatly affect health.

Dandelion is a fairly common plant in the countryside of Vietnam. They often grow wild on roadsides, dry fields, wastelands or forest edges below an altitude of 600m. This plant is widely distributed in countries such as: India, China, Thailand, Laos, Japan, Vietnam, South America…

The milkweed plant also has other names: Phyllanthus urinaria, Areca palm, and Sawtooth milkweed. The Sino-Vietnamese name is: Tran chau thao, hiep ha chau chau, nhat khai da be. The scientific name is Phyllanthus urinaria L, family Euphorbia.

The effects of milkweed

According to Oriental medicine, the dandelion has a bitter, slightly sweet taste. It is a medicinal herb with cooling properties. It has the ability to clear liver heat, promote urination, cool blood, detoxify, and disinfect.

According to the experience of people in many regions, the milkweed plant is used to treat boils and detoxify snake bites. It can be used both externally and internally. In particular, Phyllanthus urinaria is effective in treating liver diseases, skin diseases, diabetes, enteritis, gynecological inflammation, etc.

Not only used in traditional medicine, the milkweed plant has also been scientifically researched and applied in many medicinal preparations.

Below are some effects of the milkweed plant that have been recognized by modern medicine:

Hepatitis treatment: Dandelion has been studied in many projects and used in medicinal preparations such as Hepamarin. This medicinal herb is recognized to be effective in treating chronic hepatitis, viral hepatitis and alcoholic hepatitis.

Immune effects: Liquid extract from the dandelion plant has been shown to effectively inhibit the growth of HIV virus by blocking the replication process of the virus.

Effects on treating digestive diseases: The active ingredients in the dandelion plant have the ability to stimulate flatulence, increase appetite and promote digestive activity. Currently, the medicinal herb is used in many preparations to treat constipation, hepatitis, jaundice, colitis and stomach pain.

Diuretic effect: Scientists have discovered that the dandelion plant contains an alkaloid that has antispasmodic effects on smooth and skeletal muscles, which helps with urination and supports the treatment of kidney stones and gallstones.

Blood sugar lowering effect: Experiments in 1995 on diabetic patients found that using milkweed continuously for 10 days can significantly reduce blood sugar levels.

Analgesic effect: Experiments show that the plant has analgesic effect 3 times stronger than Morphine and 4 times stronger than Indomethacin. The analgesic effect is determined to be due to the presence of a mixture of steroids (beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol), ethyl ester and gallic acid in the medicinal herb.

Other effects: In addition, this herb also has the effect of treating bronchitis, cough, asthma, tuberculosis, malaria, neurodermatitis, etc.

Notes when using milkweed

Dandelion has many health benefits. However, if used incorrectly, this herb can cause some risks and unwanted effects.

Do not use if you do not have liver or gallbladder disease.

For people with liver or gallbladder diseases, using sawtooth dogwood to support treatment will be very good. However, this is a medicinal plant, should not be taken daily for disease prevention, because for normal people it can easily cause damage, imbalance in liver and gallbladder function, … which can easily lead to liver cirrhosis.

Do not use to make daily drinking water.

This is a medicinal plant, not a tonic, so you should not arbitrarily boil it to drink every day. Abuse can cause red blood cells to break down, thereby weakening the immune system and damaging liver function.

People with weak spleen and stomach should not use it.

Dandelion has a cooling property that can easily aggravate the patient’s poor digestion.

Pregnant women should not use it either.

Dandelion has the effect of constricting blood vessels and the uterus, easily causing miscarriage.

Do not drink milkweed alone.

It is necessary to combine milkweed with other medicinal herbs. Milkweed has side effects that cause a decrease in red blood cells, lower blood pressure and increase the risk of immunodeficiency.

Dandelion is a medicinal plant that grows wild in nature and is sold at a cheap price. Therefore, many people buy it themselves to boil water to drink. This can be harmful to the health of the user. It is especially important to note that dandelion should not be used without the prescription of a doctor or physician.