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Wormwood
[Botanical name: Artemisia absinthium]

The wormwood shrub grows almost everywhere in the world. It has been
traditionally used in herbal medicine for years and believed to benefit
conditions like gallbladder inflammation, indigestion, parasitic infections and
poor appetite. [1,2] Its oil has been used in preparation of foods and beverages
such as absinthe, but the oil was also linked to several causes of brain
damage. [5,6]

Side effects of wormwood

Physical contact of wormwood and its pollen including its product may lead to
allergy. [7, 20-22]

Long-term use or overdoses may cause nausea, vomiting, insomnia,
restlessness, vertigo, tremors, and seizures. [3] Excessive intake of its oil may
lead to serious side effects such as seizures, brain damage or even death. [4-
6, 18, 19] Do not take wormwood without doctor's advice or during pregnancy.

Potential Health Benefits of Wormwood.

Wormwood may benefit people suffered from malaria.
Ro DK and other researchers from UCLA suggested that artemisinin, a
sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide extracted from Artemisia annua L
(commonly known as sweet wormwood and qinghao), is highly effective against
multi-drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum is the
parasite causing malaria. [8, 13 ,15, 17]

German researchers found that application of Annual Wormwood (Artemisia
annua L.) to patients suffered from malaria would lead to a quick resolution of
parasitaemia and of clinical symptoms, but the recrudescence rate was high.
[16]

Wormwood may benefit people suffered from cancer. [9-12, 14]

Artemisinin of qinghao, sweet wormwood has been shown to have selective
toxicity towards cancer cells in vitro. [14] Researchers from University of
Washington demonstrated the potential benefits of artemisinin to prevent
breast cancer development in rats treated with a single oral dose (50mg/kg) of
7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), known to induce multiple breast
tumors. [11]

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References
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Cosmetics, 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996, 1Â–3. 2. Blumenthal M, Busse WR, Goldberg
A, et al. (eds). The Complete Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines.
Boston, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998, 232Â–3. 3. Leung AY, Foster S.
Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, 2d ed. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, 1996, 1Â–3. 4. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A. American Herbal
Products AssociationÂ’s Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1997, 15. 5
Lachenmeier DW, Walch SG, Padosch SA, Kroner LU.Absinthe--a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2006;
46(5):365-77. 6. Padosch SA, Lachenmeier DW, Kroner LU.Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century
syndrome with present impact.Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2006 May 10;1(1):14. [7] Lundh K, et al,
Contact allergy to herbal teas derived from Asteraceae plants.Contact Dermatitis. 2006 Apr;54(4):196-
201. [8] Ro DK et al, Production of the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid in engineered
yeast. Nature. 2006 Apr 13;440(7086):940-3. [9] Efferth T. Molecular pharmacology and
pharmacogenomics of artemisinin and its derivatives in cancer cells.Curr Drug Targets. 2006 Apr;7(4):
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Cancer Ther. 2006 Mar;5(1):9-29. [11] Lai H, et al, Oral artemisinin prevents and delays the
development of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in the rat. Cancer Lett.
2006 Jan 8;231(1):43-8.[12] Singh NP, Lai HC.Synergistic cytotoxicity of artemisinin and sodium
butyrate on human cancer cells.Anticancer Res. 2005 Nov-Dec;25(6B):4325-31. [13] Van der Meersch
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60(1):23-9. [14] Singh NP, Lai HC. Artemisinin induces apoptosis in human cancer cells.Anticancer
Res. 2004 Jul-Aug;24(4):2277-80. [15] Chawira AN, et al, The effect of combinations of qinghaosu
(artemisinin) with standard antimalarial drugs in the suppressive treatment of malaria in mice.Trans R
Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1987;81(4):554-8. [16] Mueller MS, et al, Randomized controlled trial of a traditional
preparation of Artemisia annua L. (Annual Wormwood) in the treatment of malaria. Trans R Soc Trop
Med Hyg. 2004 May;98(5):318-21. [17] Eckstein-Ludwig U, et al, Artemisinins target the SERCA of
Plasmodium falciparum. Nature. 2003 Aug 21;424(6951):957-61. [18] Burkhard PR, et al, Plant-induced
seizures: reappearance of an old problem. J Neurol. 1999 Aug;246(8):667-70.[19] Sherif A, et al, Drugs,
insecticides and other agents from Artemisia.Med Hypotheses. 1987 Jun;23(2):187-93.[20] Ermekova
RK, Sukhodoeva GS. Formation of increased delayed hypersensitivity to the microbial antigen in
animals preliminarily sensitized with pollen Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol. 1978 Jan;(1):110-5.
[21] Ostroumov AI, Khanferian RA, Edigarova TL.Allergenic activity of some kinds of plant pollen Biull
Eksp Biol Med. 1979 Sep;88(9):332-3. [22] Anderson JH. A survey of allergenic airborne pollen and
spores in the Fairbanks area, Alaska. Ann Allergy. 1984 Jan;52(1):26-31.