Artemisia annua

One-year mugwort (Artemisia annua)

The Annual mugwort (Artemisia annua) is a flowering plant in the genus Artemisia from the sunflower family ( Asteraceae, Compositae outdated ).

Description

The herbaceous plant is an annual, where the botanical epithet annua, from Latin annus = comes the year. Striking is the aromatic fragrance. The stem is usually completely bald. The leaves are pinnate.

The arranged in a nodding and total paniculate inflorescence yellow green and basket- shaped part inflorescences contain few yellow tubular flowers.

Occurrence

The Annual mugwort is autochthonous in summer warm rain areas of Eurasia. The distribution area extends from China to North India and Iraq to south-eastern Europe with Romania, Bulgaria, Albania. In Southern and Central Europe, this species is naturalized as a neophyte.

The occurrence in Austria, Liechtenstein and the Italian province of South Tyrol are very rare and often inconsistent. The distribution in Austria is limited to Lower Austria, Vienna and unstable populations in Salzburg; in Carinthia, North Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the Annual mugwort considered extinct.

In Germany, the Annual mugwort, besides scattered localities, distributed along the Elbe. He thrives in Spülsäumen annuals ( Bidens - mud shore company), where they grow on the dry fallen in summer low water level of the River Elbe after discharge wintry flood.

System

Artemisia annua in 1753, first published by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, Volume 2, page 847. Are synonyms for Artemisia annua Artemisia chamomilla C.Winkl. , Artemisia and Artemisia stewartii CBClarke Wadei Edgew ..

Use

The artemisinin formed in the plant is successfully used as a remedy for malaria by traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. In extracted from the sweet wormwood shrub artemether based the currently recommended by the WHO treatment against malaria, which consists of a combination preparation (ACT ) of artemether and lumefantrine is (trade name Coartem, Riamet; manufacturer Novartis) A growth- inhibitory effect of this clinically important ingredient and other ingredients on various tumor cells has been demonstrated. Large-scale clinical trials, however, are not yet available. According to an independent expert group of the state of knowledge is not enough at the moment to apply Artemisia annua for cancer outside of clinical trials.

In traditional Chinese medicine in addition also reported success in the treatment of other diseases.

Artemisinin is practically too expensive for use in developing countries. As the industry never intended to develop a more favorable means, scientists wanted to find out in animal experiments, in which form the leaves of the plant itself act against malaria. The result was surprisingly positive. There are in the plant leaves a number of other substances, including flavonoids, which interact with artemisinin and complement each other in the leaves and reinforcing. The dried and ground leaves of the plant look much more effective against malaria as a Artemisininpräparat.