Artemisia, a genus of the family daisy(Asteraceae) contains many species commonly known as mugworts and wormwoods,notably Chinese mugwort (A. argyi) that grows across Eastern Asia and common mugwort (A. vulgaris) that grows across other temperate zones. The plantspropagate by spreading their rhizomes.
Mugworts have a special association with the Dragon Boat Festival that falls on Monday 10th June, which is the rationale for this week’s cover image. During the festival, the leaves are hung to ward off evil species and plague. This no doubt stems from the plants 'pungent aromatics, with mugworts used traditionally to ward off insects.
Mugworts and wormwoods have strong, bitter flavours that find use in foods and beverages. I found a number of interesting recipes by searching the Internet. Notably ,extracts of Artemesia absinthium are used to flavour the aperitifs vermouth and absinthe.
Mugwortsare well known in traditional medicine, used as decoctions, essential-oil extracts and by “moxibustion” (look that up yourself). Clinical uses draw ontheir antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, antidepressant, cytotoxic, and digestion-stimulating activities. Artemisia-derived productsfind increasing use in skincare and haircare, to the extent that there are 150entries in the European Union Special Cosmetic Ingredients (COSING).
Mugwort species contain numerous bioactive phytochemicals. In research inspired by the traditional use of Artemisia to treat fever, Chinese scientist Youyou Tu discovered the antimalarial drug #artemisinin.Her epic work earned her the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone with potent activity against Plasmodium falciparium,the protozoal parasite that causes malaria. Youyou’s work is a shining example of how traditional medicine can translate into solid, internationally-recognised,science-based medicine.
Further reading
🐲Ekiert H et al (2022). Artemisia Species with High Biological Values as a Potential Source of Medicinal and Cosmetic Raw Materials. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(19), 6427. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27196427
🐲 Trifan A at al (2022). Unveiling the Phytochemical Profile and Biological Potential of Five Artemisia Species. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 11(5), 1017. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11051017
🐲 Sharifi-Rad J et al (2022). Artemisia spp.: An Update on Its Chemical Composition, Pharmacological and Toxicological Profiles. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2022,5628601. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5628601
🐲 Liu W & Liu Y (2016). Youyou Tu: significance of winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Cardiovasculardiagnosis and therapy, 6(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2223-3652.2015.12.11
