Wormwood Health Article

Description

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is a perennial that is native to Europe and parts of Africa and Asia but now grows wild in the United States. It is extensively cultivated. Also called shrub wormwood, Artemisia absinthium is a member of the daisy or Asteraceae family. The species name, absinthium, means "without sweetness." Many species of the genus Artemisia have medicinal properties.

Wormwood grows alongside roads or paths. This shrubby plant is 1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m) tall and has gray-green or white stems covered with fine hairs. The yellowish-green leaves are hairy and silky and have glands that contain resinous particles where the natural insecticide is stored. Wormwood releases an aromatic odor and has a spicy, bitter taste.

Constituents and bioactivities

Wormwood contains a wide variety of biologically active compounds that contribute to its medicinal value. The constituents of wormwood include:

• acetylenes (trans-dehydromatricaria ester, C13 and C14 trans-spiroketalenol ethers and others)
• ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• azulenes (chamazulene, dihydrochamazulenes, bisabolene, camphene, cadinene, sabinene, trans-sabinylacetate, phellandrene, pinene, and others)
• carotenoids
• flavonoids (quercitin 3-glucoside, quercitin 3-rhamnoglucoside, spinacetin 3-glucoside, spinacetin 3-rhamnoglucoside, and others)
• lignins (diayangambin and epiyangambin)
• phenolic acids (p-hydroxyphenylacetic, p-coumaric, chlorogenic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic, and others)
• tannins
• thujone and isothujone
• sesquiterpene lactones (absinthin, artabsin, anabsinthin, artemetin, artemisinin, arabsin, artabin, artabsinolides, artemolin, matricin, isoabsinthin, and others)

Wormwood is a strong bitter that affects the bittersensing taste buds on the tongue that send signals to the brain to stimulate the entire digestive system (salivation, stomach acid production, intestinal tract movement, etc.). This bitter taste also stimulates the production of bile by the liver and storage of bile in the gall bladder. The azulenes in wormwood have anti-inflammatory activity. The sesquiterpene lactones are insecticidal and have anti-tumor activity. The toxin thujone is a brain stimulant. Wormwood also has anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, carminative (relieves intestinal gas), tonic (restores tone to tissues), antibacterial, antifungal, antiamoebic, antifertility, hepatoprotective (prevents and cures liver damage), febrifugal (reduces fever), and vermifugal (expels intestinal worms) activities.