Artemisia herba-alba | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Artemisia |
Species: | A. herba-alba |
Binomial name | |
Artemisia herba-alba | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Artemisia herba-alba, the white wormwood, is a perennial shrub in the genus Artemisia that grows commonly on the dry steppes of the Mediterranean regions in Northern Africa (Saharan Maghreb), Western Asia (Arabian Peninsula) and Southwestern Europe. [2] It is used as an antiseptic and antispasmodic in herbal medicine.
Its specific epithet herba-alba means "white herb" in Latin, as its stems and leaves are white and woolly. [3] Similarly, it is armoise herbe-blanche or armoise blanche in French.
In Arabic, it is shīeḥ (الشيح). [4] And it is la'anah (לענה) in Old Testament Hebrew. [5] [6] "Wormwood" (in the Bible, Rev. 8:10–11).
Artemisia herba-alba is a chamaeophyte that grows to 20–40 cm (8–16 in). Leaves are strongly aromatic and covered with fine glandular hairs that reflect sunlight giving a grayish aspect to the shrub. The leaves of sterile shoots are grey, petiolate, ovate to orbicular in outline; whereas, the leaves of flowering stems, more abundant in winter, are much smaller. [7]
The flowering heads are sessile, oblong and tapering at base. The plant flowers from September to December. [8] The receptacle is naked with 2–5 yellowish hermaphrodite flowers per head. [7]
Essential oil of A. herba-alba, from the Sinai Desert, contains mainly 1,8-cineole and appreciable amounts of α- / β-thujone as well as other oxygenated monoterpenes including terpinen-4-ol, camphor and borneol. [9] Davanone, chrysanthenone and cis-chrysanthenol have been described as major constituents in some populations of A. herba-alba from Morocco [10] and Spain. [11] Less common non-head-to-tail monoterpene alcohols have been identified in some populations from Negev desert, such as santolina alcohol and yomogi alcohol. [12]
Several sesquiterpene lactones were found in the aerial parts of A. herba-alba. Mainly, eudesmanolides and germacranolides types were reported in most cases. [13] A variety of flavonoids were also described mainly with methylated (i.e. patuletin) and O-methylated (i.e. hispidulin, cirsilineol) aglycones. [14] [15] The presence of C-glycosides (i.e. isovitexin, schaftoside, isoschaftoside) is also noticeable. [14] [16]
Artemisia herba-alba is good fodder for grazing animals, mainly sheep, and in the Algerian steppes cattle. [9] [17]
This section needs more reliable medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources .(September 2015) |
This species of sagebrush is widely used in herbal medicine for its antiseptic, vermifuge and antispasmodic properties. [9] Artemisia herba-alba was reported as a traditional remedy of enteritis, and various intestinal disturbances, among the Bedouins in the Negev desert. [18] Based on laboratory assays, essential oil showed antibacterial activity, [19] as well as, antispasmodic activity on rabbits [9] and cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. [20]
Artemisia herba-alba based teas were used in Iraqi folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. [21] An aqueous extract of aerial parts of the plant has shown a hypoglycemic effect in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits and mice. [22] [23] [24] [25]
Artemisia herba-alba is thought to be the plant translated as "wormwood" in English-language versions of the Bible (apsinthos in the Greek text). Wormwood is mentioned seven times in the Jewish Bible, always with the implication of bitterness. Wormwood is mentioned once in the New Testament, as the name of a star, also with implications of bitterness. [26]
Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae, with almost 500 species. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush.
Artemisia absinthium, otherwise known as common wormwood, is a species of Artemisia native to North Africa and temperate regions of Eurasia, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental plant and is used as an ingredient in the spirit absinthe and some other alcoholic beverages.
Artemisia scoparia is a Eurasian species in the genus Artemisia, in the sunflower family. It is widespread across much of Eurasia from France to Japan, including China, India, Russia, Germany, Poland, central + southwest Asia, etc.
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Triterpenes are a class of terpenes composed of six isoprene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of three terpene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the precursor to all steroids.
Cytisopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae. It contains two species, native to Morocco and the eastern Mediterranean.
Galangin is a flavonol, a type of flavonoid.
Prenylated flavonoids or prenylflavonoids are a sub-class of flavonoids. They are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. Some are known to have phytoestrogenic or antioxidant properties. They are given in the list of adaptogens in herbalism. Chemically they have a prenyl group attached to their flavonoid backbone. It is usually assumed that the addition of hydrophobic prenyl groups facilitate attachment to cell membranes. Prenylation may increase the potential activity of its original flavonoid.
Verbascoside is a polyphenol glycoside in which the phenylpropanoid caffeic acid and the phenylethanoid hydroxytyrosol form an ester and an ether bond respectively, to the rhamnose part of a disaccharide, namely β-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)-β-D-(4-O-caffeoyl)-glucopyranoside.
Pterocarpans are derivatives of isoflavonoids found in the family Fabaceae. It is a group of compounds which can be described as benzo-pyrano-furano-benzenes which can be formed by coupling of the B ring to the 4-one position.
Bakuchiol is a meroterpenoid in the class terpenophenol.
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Dendrobium plicatile is an Asian orchid species, a member of the genus Dendobium. It was formerly described as Flickingeria fimbriata.
Sarcococca saligna, the sweet box or Christmas box, is a species of flowering plant in the family Buxaceae. This shrub is native to northern Pakistan. Its common name in Pakistan is sheha.
Lunamarine (punarnavine) is a quinolone alkaloid present in Boerhavia diffusa (punarnava).
Filipendula glaberrima, also called Korean meadowsweet, is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae that is native to Korea. The genus Filipendula is classified as a perennial herbaceous ornamental plant of the botanical family Rosaceae. The historical utilization of Filipendula plants in traditional medicine can be attributed to their diuretic, antiseptic, anti-rheumatic, stomachic, and antacid qualities. Plants belonging to the genus Filipendula have various beneficial properties, including antioxidant capacity, anticancer activity, anti-inflammatory effects, anti-colitis properties, anti-hyperalgesic properties, antigenotoxic effects, hepatoprotective activities, and skin-moisturizing properties.
Vobasine is a naturally occurring monoterpene indole alkaloid found in several species in the genus Tabernaemontana including Tabernaemontana divaricata.
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Peter A.G.M. De Smet is a retired drug information pharmacist and clinical pharmacologist, emeritus professor of pharmaceutical patient care, and lyricist. He is still active as an ethnopharmacological and ethnomedical researcher.
Artemisia mesatlantica, or blue mugwort, is a species of perennial shrub in the Asteraceae family, belonging to the genus Artemisia. It is endemic to Morocco and has been classified by the Union International de Conservation de la Nature en Afrique du Nord as a rare and endangered species. Its essential oil has been extensively studied. Artemisia mesatlantica was described in 1928.
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