(NaturalNews) The roots, leaves and flowers of the dandelion plant are a potent and healthy herbal medicine, although folks might think those yellow dots popping up in their landscape are just nuisance weeds. Not so, as reported by Reset.me, who emphasizes that the botanical name for dandelion – Taraxacum officinal – aptly describes its medicinal potential. Taraxacum translates into an "inflammation curative." Officinal means that the lowly dandelion is revered as a bona fide, official medicinal plant. The use of the dandelion plant as a healing agent "predates written records," but it is understood that the Greeks and the Chinese used dandelion compounds to aid in digestion, and as a liver tonic and diuretic. (RELATED: Learn more about natural remedies at Remedies.news)

Traditional herbalists, both in the East and the West, have utilized the properties of the dandelion for liver support and as a blood purifier. It is this blood purifying action that intrigued Canadian researchers at the University of Windsor to pursue whether dandelion roots could be effective for individuals suffering from end stage blood cancer. The team experimented by applying dandelion root extract into petri dishes on "blood drawn from a leukemia patient and lab rats." They discovered that the "dandelion root extract was effective in inducing apoptosis, or cell suicide, in tumor cells, while leaving healthy cells alone."