Research review
Does dandelion root help with cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show
No human trial has tested dandelion root's effect on cholesterol. The evidence that exists is a mouse study of dandelion leaf extract and a cell-culture study of leaf and root extract on fat cells — animal and lab findings, not a trial in people.
No human trial has tested dandelion root's effect on cholesterol. The evidence that exists is animal and cell research on dandelion leaf, and it measured different tissue than most people expect — liver fat and cell-level triglyceride storage, alongside blood cholesterol, in mice on a high-fat diet, not people with high cholesterol.
What the evidence doesn't support
It doesn't support dandelion root tea, capsules or extract as a way to lower cholesterol in a person. No trial has given people dandelion root and measured their cholesterol, LDL or triglycerides before and after. What's been studied is dandelion leaf extract in mice and dandelion extract on isolated fat cells — neither is the same evidence as a human cholesterol trial.
What the trials found
A 2013 study fed mice a high-fat diet, with one group's diet also supplemented with dandelion leaf extract at 2 or 5 grams per kilogram of feed. Compared with mice on the high-fat diet alone, the supplemented mice showed reduced serum triglycerides, reduced total cholesterol, and reduced fasting glucose and insulin, along with less liver fat accumulation and more activation of AMPK (an enzyme involved in fat and sugar metabolism) in liver and muscle tissue. This was leaf extract mixed into mouse feed, not root, and not a dose that translates into a cup of tea or a capsule for a person.
Separately, a lab-dish study applied dandelion leaf and root extracts directly to mature mouse fat cells and found both extracts reduced how much triglyceride the cells stored, alongside antioxidant activity linked to the extracts' polyphenol content — a cell-culture finding, not a measurement of blood cholesterol in a living animal or person.
A broader review of dandelion, chicory and mulberry research summarizes similar animal and lab findings across multiple studies — decreased insulin resistance and suppressed triglyceride and cholesterol levels in rodent models — while noting these plants remain understudied in people for this purpose.
Questions people ask
Does dandelion root tea lower cholesterol?
No human trial has tested this. The relevant research used dandelion leaf extract in mice and on isolated fat cells, not tea consumed by a person.
Is dandelion root good for high cholesterol?
That's not a question current research can answer directly. No trial has given a person with high cholesterol dandelion root and measured the result.
When to talk to a doctor
Dandelion root is not a treatment for high cholesterol, and nothing in the animal or cell research above supports using it instead of a cholesterol-lowering medication or a doctor's monitoring. If you take a statin or another cholesterol medication, check with your doctor or pharmacist before adding dandelion root — see dandelion root and medications.
Sources
- Taraxacum official (dandelion) leaf extract alleviates high-fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver In mice fed a high-fat diet, adding dandelion leaf extract to the feed resulted in less weight gain, less liver fat, and better blood sugar and cholesterol markers than the high-fat diet alone — an animal study of leaf extract, not root, and not a human weight-loss trial.
- In vitro Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Leaf and Root Extracts of Taraxacum Officinale In a lab dish, dandelion leaf and root extracts reduced fat accumulation in mouse fat cells and showed antioxidant activity — a cell-culture finding, not a result in a living body.
- Plants of the Spontaneous Flora with Beneficial Action in the Management of Diabetes, Hepatic Disorders, and Cardiovascular Disease A review summarizing animal and lab research on dandelion (and related plants) reports triglyceride- and cholesterol-lowering effects in rodent studies, while noting the underlying evidence is preclinical, not from trials in people.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.