Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
What is Wormwood?
Wormwood is most famous for its central role in the European liquor known commonly as "Absinthe." The mild psychedelic liquor owes much of its psychoactivity to the thujone content of the wormwood (as well as the high alcohol content of course).
Wormwood is a deeply bitter herb and is useful for removing parasites of the gastrointestinal tract as well as cleaning out bacterial infections. It's antiviral and anti-carminative, but can also be neurotoxic at high doses thanks to the thujone.
What Is Wormwood Used For?
Wormwood is mainly used for treating parasitic infections, bacterial infection of the gastrointestinal tract, spasmodic conditions, and as a bitter to stimulate digestion and appetite.
Traditional Uses
+ Western Herbal Medicine
Artemisia absinthium has traditionally been used to treat parasitic, and bacterial infection, as well as neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, stomach aches, fevers, declining cognitive function, hepatitis, and as a cardiac stimulant, nootropic, and antispasmodic agent [1, 7]. Artemesia as a genus, including wormwood, were often used to treat conditions such as malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and fungal infections [1, 6].
In Culpepers complete herbal, Culpepper lists wormwood seeds for expelling worms [15].
+ Traditional Chinese Medicine
In traditional Chinese medicine, this herb is referred to as yin chen and is used to treat acute biliary dysentery, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases [7, 18].
Pinyin:
Yin Chen (Alternate names are Yin Chen Hao or Mian yin chen)
Taste:
Bitter and pungent [18]
Energy:
Cool [18]
Actions:
Clears heat, drains dampness, promotes gallbladder function, relieves jaundice [18].
Indications:
Jaundice, scanty urine, eczema, itching, abdominal distention and fullness, greasy tongue coating [18].
+ Iran
In northern parts of Iran, where Artemisia absinthium grows wild, its arial parts are traditionally used as both food and medicine [1]. It has been, and is continued to be used in the food industry to prepare aperitifs, bitters, and spirits [7], such as absinth.
Herb Details: Wormwood
Botanical Information
Wormwood is one of the many medicinal species of Artemisia, or "sage," not to be confused with Salvia, which is also a large family of sages. This particular family has a wide range of different medicinal actions from species to species. It is a member of the Asteraceae family of plants, which is the second largest of the flowering families of plants containing some 32,000 species and 1911 genera. There are about 250-500 species in the genus Artemisia, which are mainly found in Europe, Asia, and North America [1].
The herb itself can be described as a perennial herbaceous plant with a woody rhizome.
Some of the other notable members of the Artemesia genus includes:
Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort)
Artemisia arbuscula (Sagebrush)
Artemisia canadensis (Canada wormwood)
Artemisia dracunculus (Tarragon)
Habitat Ecology, and Distribution
The genus Artemisia can be found over a wide range from North America, through Europe, and Asia [1, 2]. Artemisia absinthium specifically is mainly found growing wild in Northern Iran [1]. In China, it is commonly found growing in most gravel areas [18].
Harvesting Collection, and Preparation:
When preparing Artemisia absinthium, a study investigating the antioxidant potential of various extracts discovered that the optimal temperature for extraction using a variety of solvents was 45 degrees C, and the best solvent was methanol (75%). They recorded the highest extraction was with a 75% methanol extract at this temperature, and the lowest was a 100% water extract [1].
Some of the best wormwood is suggested to come from Jiangxi, China [18].
Pharmacology & Medical Research
+ Antimicrobial
The antimicrobial effects of the essential oil of Artemisia absinthium were shown to be most pronounced in gram-positive bacteria. The reason for this is suggested to be due to gram-negative bacterias hydrophilic outer membrane which blocks the mainly hydrophobic compounds found in Artemisia absinthium volatile oil from entering the cell membrane [7].
+ Anthelmintic
In vitro studies have determined Artemisia absinthium to possess anti-parasitic activity [4].
+ Cancer
Wormwood extracts have been shown to possess anti-cancer effects via cell apoptosis signaling in human breast cancer cell lines. Its actions have been found to be through multiple apoptosis pathways, which suggests a powerful synergy contained within the chemistry of this plant. [14].
+ Hepatoprotective
An aqueous extract of Artemisia absinthium was shown to protect the liver cells from chemical toxins [5].
Phytochemistry
+ Constituents
[1, 3, 7, 12, 13]
Flavonol-3-glycosides:
- Quercetin
- Isorhamnetin
- Patuletin
- Spinacetin derrivatives
Volatile oils: [16+]
- Myrecene
- trans-thujone
- alpha-thujone
- beta-Thujone
- trans-sabinyl acetate
- Sabinene
- Myrecene
- trans-sabinaol
- Linalyl acetate
- Geranyl propionate
- 1,8-Cineol (<3.4%) data-preserve-html-node="true"
- Borneol
Clinical Applications Of Wormwood:
Wormwood is a reliable bitter herb, and is useful for eliminating parasites and treating infections of the gastrointestinal tract.
Recent Blog Posts:
References:
Ghafoori, H., Sariri, R., & Naghavi, M. R. (2014). STudy of effect of extraction conditions on the biochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Artemisia absinthium by HPLC and TLC. Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies, 37(11), 1558-1567.
Bremer, K. (1993). Generic monograph of the Asteraceae-Anthemideae. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. London (Bot.), 23, 71-177.
Hoffmann, B. Z.; Herrmann, K. (1982). Phenolic Species. 8. Flavonol Glycosides of Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) and Absinthe (Artemisia absinthium L.). Z Lebensm Unters-Forsch. 174, 211–215.
Gonzalez-Coloma, A., Bailen, M., Diaz, C. E., Fraga, B. M., Martínez-Díaz, R., Zuñiga, G. E., ... & Burillo, J. (2012). Major components of Spanish cultivated Artemisia absinthium populations: Antifeedant, antiparasitic, and antioxidant effects. Industrial Crops and Products, 37(1), 401-407.
Amat, N., Upur, H., & Blažeković, B. (2010). In vivo hepatoprotective activity of the aqueous extract of Artemisia absinthium L. against chemically and immunologically induced liver injuries in mice. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 131(2), 478-484.
Bora, K. S., & Sharma, A. (2011). The genus Artemisia: a comprehensive review. Pharmaceutical Biology, 49(1), 101-109.
Joshi, R. K. (2013). Volatile composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Artemisia absinthium growing in Western Ghats region of North West Karnataka, India. Pharmaceutical biology, 51(7), 888-892.
Caner, A., Döşkaya, M., Değirmenci, A., Can, H., Baykan, Ş., Üner, A., ... & Gürüz, Y. (2008). Comparison of the effects of Artemisia vulgaris and Artemisia absinthium growing in western Anatolia against trichinellosis (Trichinella spiralis) in rats. Experimental parasitology, 119(1), 173-179.
Lee HG, Kim H, Oh WK. (2004). Tetramethoxy hydroxyflavone p-7F downregulates inflammatory mediators via the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1030:555–68.
Canadanovic‐Brunet, J. M., Djilas, S. M., Cetkovic, G. S., & Tumbas, V. T. (2005). Free‐radical scavenging activity of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L) extracts. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85(2), 265-272.
Wake, G., Pickering, A., Lewis, R., Wilkins, R., & Perry, E. (2000). CNS acetylcholine receptor activity in European medicinal plants traditionally used to improve failing memory. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 69(2), 105-114.
Lopes-Lutz, D., Alviano, D. S., Alviano, C. S., & Kolodziejczyk, P. P. (2008). Screening of chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Artemisia essential oils. Phytochemistry, 69(8), 1732-1738.
Orav, A., Raal, A., Arak, E., Muurisepp, M., & Kailas, T. (2006, September). Composition of the essential oil of Artemisia absinthium L. of different geographical origin. In Proceedings-estonian Academy of Sciences Chemistry (Vol. 55, No. 3, p. 155). TRUEKITUD OU.
Shafi, G., Hasan, T. N., Syed, N. A., Al-Hazzani, A. A., Alshatwi, A. A., Jyothi, A., & Munshi, A. (2012). Artemisia absinthium (AA): a novel potential complementary and alternative medicine for breast cancer. Molecular biology reports, 39(7), 7373-7379.
Culpeper, N. (1995). Culpeper's complete herbal: A book of natural remedies for ancient ills. Wordsworth Editions.
Battaglia, S. (2003). The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy (2nd ed.). Brisbane, Australia: The International Centre of Holistic Aromatherapy. (Pg 325)
Bone, K. (2003). A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patient. Edinburgh [u.a.: Churchill Livingstone. (Pg. 469-470).
Yang, J., Huang, H., Zhu, Li-Jiang, & Chen, Y. (2013). Introduction to Chinese materia medica (3rd ed.). (Pg 217-220).