Summary
Medicinal plant containing artemisinin, an antimalarial molecule used mainly in Africa, in capsule form, to treat malaria (malaria).
names
Portuguese name: Artemisia, wormwood
Binomial name: Artemisia annua
French name: Armoise annuelle , absinthe chinoise
English name: sweet wormwood, Chinese wormwood
German name: Einjährige Beifuß
Italian name: artemisia annuale
Spanish name: ajenjo Dulce
Chinese name: qinghao (青蒿)
Family
Asteraceae
Constituents
Sesquiterpene lactones (artemisinin), flavonoids, essential oil rich in monoterpenes.
parts used
Leaves, whole plant.
Effects
Antimalarial, antifungal (essential oil).
Indications
– Dermatitis (in traditional Chinese medicine)
– headache
– Fever
– Ringworm (essential oil)
Secundary effects
Please read the leaflet.
contraindications
Ask your pharmacist and read the leaflet.
Interactions
Ask your pharmacist and read the leaflet.
Preparations
– Capsule (powder based), mugwort tablet
– Mugwort tea (infusion)
Artemisia originates from China, grows in warm temperate zones (Source: Wikipedia.org). Currently sagebrush cultures are found in other parts besides China, such as Europe and Africa (eg Madagascar).
It is a plant that measures 80 to 150 cm in height.
– Mugwort is a traditional Chinese plant that has been used for over 2,000 years to treat a variety of ailments, including malaria. This plant is also used in traditional Indian medicine.
– Studies have proven the effectiveness of Artemisia annua against malaria.
To treat malaria, the WHO recommends, however, combining it with other treatments against malaria, monotherapy using only artemisinin should be avoided. This recommendation serves to prevent cases of resistance to this natural antimalarial.
– On October 5, 2015, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three researchers, one of the winners being the Chinese Tu Youyou, who worked for years on behalf of the Chinese government in the late 1960s in the fight against malaria. Her research led to the extraction of artemisinin, the active ingredient of mugwort (Artemisia annua). Artemisinin is currently the only available treatment for the most severe cases of malaria. Researcher Youyou managed to combine elements of traditional medicine with modern scientific research in her work.
Youyou and his team analyzed more than 2,000 traditional Chinese medicine remedies with potential in the fight against malaria. Of all these remedies, they came up with 380 plant extracts tested on mice. One of these extracts proved to be an effective antipyretic against the fever caused by malaria. This extract came from the mugwort plant (Artemisia annua). Youyou and his team modified the extraction process and isolated, in the early 1970s, the active ingredient called artemisinin. His work became public in 1977, after the end of Chinese government restrictions.
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