How much vitamin C is in dandelion root?

USDA composition data for raw dandelion greens lists about 35 mg of vitamin C per 100 g — close to 40% of a typical daily target, and dandelion's most notable vitamin by that measure. That figure is for the fresh leafy green, though, and drying or roasting the root for tea and capsules likely brings it down, though by how much hasn't been measured.

What the data actually covers

USDA FoodData Central has a detailed nutrient profile for "dandelion greens, raw," vitamin C included. It doesn't have a comparable entry for dandelion root, the part actually sold as tea, roasted "coffee," capsules and tinctures. Root and leaf are different parts of the same plant, so the 35 mg figure is a description of the vegetable, not the supplement people buy.

Why drying and roasting matter here specifically

Vitamin C is one of the least stable nutrients in food: it breaks down with heat, light, oxygen exposure, and time, more than minerals like potassium or magnesium do. Dandelion root sold for tea is typically cut and dried, and "dandelion coffee" is roasted, both processes that involve heat and time. That makes it likely whatever vitamin C the fresh root contains is reduced by the time it's a tea bag or capsule — but nobody has published an analysis measuring dried or roasted dandelion root's vitamin C content, so there's no number to put on the reduction.

Is dandelion root a useful vitamin C source?

The fresh green, based on USDA data, is a decent source. The dried root sold as a supplement is a different, unmeasured product, and processing works against vitamin C specifically more than it does most other nutrients in the plant. Fresh produce that's actually high in vitamin C (citrus, peppers, or dandelion greens themselves, eaten fresh), or a dedicated vitamin C supplement, are more reliable if vitamin C intake is the goal.

Questions people ask

Does dandelion root tea have vitamin C?

Likely some, but no published analysis has measured it, and vitamin C is exactly the kind of nutrient that drying and steeping are likely to reduce.

Is dandelion root high in vitamin C like the leaves?

That's not established. The 35 mg per 100 g figure is for fresh leaves; root-specific data doesn't exist, and the two parts of the plant aren't guaranteed to match.

More on dandelion root's other nutrients: dandelion root and potassium, dandelion root and magnesium, and dandelion root and zinc.