Dandelions (Taraxacum spp) have been used for centuries for the treatment of various ailments; surprisingly enough, they have received little research attention. Some scientific studies report anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and diuretic activities of various parts of this plant [8]. Recent studies from our lab show a strong anti-cancer activity of an aqueous dandelion root extract (DRE) . We find that DRE is able to induce a rapid activation of the death-receptor mediated extrinsic pathway of apoptosis in human leukemia and pancreatic cancer cells in a dose and time dependent manner. Furthermore, the induction of apoptosis is dependent on caspase-8 activation. Our data shows that this action of DRE is cancer cell selective, as the same treatment is not detrimental to non-cancer cells. However, the detailed analyses of the efficacy and toxicity of this extract in in-vivo and ex-vivo models, as well as, its mechanism(s) of action still remain unexplored. Furthermore, the pharmacologically active anti-cancer components of this extract are at present unknown.