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Medicinal Importance of Artemisia absinthium Linn (Afsanteen) in Unani Medicine: A Review
Abstract
Artemisia absinthium, Linn. (Afsanteen) of the family Compositae; Astraceae is an aromatic, bitter and perennial shrubby plant. This grows from 60 to 120 cm in height with a woody, hardy rosette and high branch bearing stem. The leaves of the plant, probably the best known species, have been used in medicines and such beverages as absinthe. The whole plant is an aromatic tonic and formerly enjoyed a high reputation in debility of the digestive organs. It was also regarded as an anthelmintic. Before the discovery of cinchona, it was largely used in intermittent. Keeping in view the medicinal importance of the plant in Unani Medicine, an attempt has been made to review the available literature on its ethnobotany, medicinal uses, chemistry and scientific studies.
... In India and Worldwide Artemisia absinthium is known by the flowing names in various languages [30][31][32][33][34]. ...
... Flowers are heterogamous in nature. Each flower head is surrounded by 8-10 bracts [33,52]. ...
Artemisia absinthium Linn. (Wormwood) is an important perennial shrubby plant that belongs to the family Asteraceae. It is used as herbal medicine in Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and Siddha. It has a great importance as a folk medicine in ancient history from the time of Greek. It is used medically with a very long tradition as anti-helminthic, but it is also used as an ingredient in the liquor absinthe. This species is globally distributed from Europe to North Asia. Flowering occurs in midsummer, pale yellow, tubular flowers develop in drooping heads in the axils of the leaves. A single plant can produce 50,000 seeds. Wormwood invades open and disturbed sites such as pastures, rangelands, crop land, stream banks, prairies .Within India; it has been recorded in the Himalayan region across Jammu & Kashmir. This review provides information on the history, ethno botany, Phytochemistry, medicinal uses, and pharmacological evaluation studies of Artemisia absinthium.
... Wormwood contains also fatty acids. Palmitic (33.39%), arachidic (26.2%), linoleic (27.5%), lauric, myristic, steric and oleic acids which have been detected in the lipid fraction of volatile oils of leaf (0.22%), flower (0.35%), and herb (0.3%) by TLC (Wasim Ahmad, 2010).Nikhat et al. (2013)reported that the seeds contain a mixture of 9-hydroxy-trans, trans, 10, 12-octadecadienoic acid and 13-hydroxy-trans, trans, 9, 11-octadecadienoic acid in the ratio of 2:1. ...
... In traditional medicine, Artemisia absinthium is believed to treat mental exhaustion and nervous depression, otalgia, chronic fever, anaemia, amenorrhoea, etc. (Wasim Ahmad, 2010). According to Guarrera (2005) andWake et al. (2000), wormwood has been used in folk medicine as an antispasmodic, febrifuge, stomachic, cardiac stimulant, anthelmintic agent and for the restoration of declining mental function and inflammations of the liver. ...
A trial with nine wormwood accessions was installed to carry out a systematic evaluation of intraspecific diversity. Six morphological features, essential oil (EO) yield and thujone content were measured. Besides, 11 RAPD and 15 ISSR molecular markers were tested to determine the genetic diversity of the accessions. The experiment was carried out in open eld in 2016.
Accession “Pákozd” exhibited largest growth (64.9 cm) and genotype “Norwegen” was the smallest (29.9 cm). This latter accession had also the smallest but thickest leaves. Concerning morphological features, the Norwegian population was the most homogenous one (CV%: 10.6-20.1) while “Belgin” brought about largest variability (CV%: 18.4-45.3).
Based on EO yield, the studied accessions were divided into three signi cantly diverse groups. The highest yield was produced by “Spanish” accession (3.215 ml/100 g), “Norwegen” and “Belgien” produced medium values (1.569-1.892 ml/100 g) and six accessions showed EO yields below 1% (0.349-0.832 ml/100 g). Three acces- sions (“Leipzig”, “Belgien” and “Norwegen”) had high amount of thujone in the oil (50-89%) while in all other accessions thujones were absent or present only below 1%. “Belgien” accession had balanced ratio of α- and β-thujones while in the other ones β-thujone was the absolute main component. High polymorphism was found among the wormwood accessions also by molecular markers: 81.15% for RAPD and 73.10% for ISSR primers. Based on the Nei’s genetic distances the three groups of genotypes were identical to those in the case of EO yield.
The study confirmed the large intraspecific variability of wormwood but revealed that it is not definitely connected to geographical origin of the populations.
... The French refer to it as Vermouth, and in Latin it is identified as Genepi. The Greek name is Apsinthion, and in Chinese it is known as Yang ai and Kuai [6]. In Hindi, it is known as Mastiyarah, Majtari, Karmala, or Majri. ...
Abstract: This study focused on developing an innovative, straightforward, and economical method utilizing a mixture of readily available solvents to extract arborescin (C2OH2OO8) crystals from Artemisia absinthium L. (A. absinthium). The structural elucidation and characterization were conducted using a suite of techniques including IR spectroscopy, CNHSO elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and mass spectroscopy (MS). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to determine the molecular properties. Antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH radical scavenging assay and the β-carotene bleaching test. Antimicrobial efficacy was assessed against four bacterial strains and three fungal strains. The molecular docking approach was employed to predict the probable binding patterns and affinities of arborescin with specific target biomolecules. Employing an array of analytical techniques, examination of the isolated crystal from A. absinthium. led to its comprehensive structural elucidation. IR spectroscopy revealed the presence of distinctive functional groups, including a carbonyl group within the γ-lactone and an epoxy group. CNHSO elemental analysis verified that the crystal contained only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, a finding corroborated by SEM-EDS analysis, consistent with the molecular structure of arborescin. Additionally, mass spectrometry confirmed the identity of the compound as arborescin, with a molecular ion with a mass m/z = 248. Quantum-Chemical Descriptors revealed that arborescin is resistant to elementary decomposition under standard conditions. Although arborescin demonstrates a relatively low antioxidant capacity, with an IC50 of 5.04 ± 0.12 mg/mL in the DPPH assay, its antioxidant activity in the β-carotene bleaching test was found to be 3.64%. Remarkably, arborescin effectively inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua at low concentrations (MIC = 166 µg/mL). Additionally, it exhibits significant antifungal activity against Candida glabrata, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of 83 µg/mL and 166 µg/mL, respectively. In this study, arborescin exhibited a robust docking score of −8.1 kcal/mol, indicating a higher affinity compared to ciprofloxacin. This suggests that arborescin has significant potential as a potent antibacterial agent.
Keywords: arborescin; crystal structure; recrystallization; Artemisia absinthium; antimicrobial; antioxidant; docking
... Artemisia is one of the most predominant and widely distributed genus in Asteraceae family that is composed of more than 500 different species classified as annual, perennial, and biennial natural plants or small shrubs (Table 1) [2]. A. absinthium is named by several vernacular names. It is named as green ginger, absinthe, absinthium, wormwood in English; Genepi in Latin; Vermouth in French; Apsinthion in Greek; Absinthium in Hemopathy, Anjenjo in Mexican; Yang ai, Kuai in Chinese; Majtari, Majri, Mastiyarah, Karmala in Hindi; Absinth, Wermut in German; nigayomogi in Japanese; Damseeh, and Afsanteen in Arabic [3]. A. absinthium root is perennial with a firm, prolonged, woody, and leafy stem and has a warm and aromatic taste. ...
Plants have been used since ancient times to cure certain infectious diseases, and some of them are now standard treatments for several diseases. Due to the side effects and resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics and most drugs on the market, a great deal of attention has been paid to extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from plant species used in herbal medicine. Artemisia absinthium is an important perennial shrubby plant that has been widely used for the treatment of several ailments. Traditionally, A. absinthium has always been of pharmaceutical and botanical importance and used to manage several disorders including hepatocyte enlargement, hepatitis, gastritis, jaundice, wound healing, splenomegaly, dyspepsia, indigestion, flatulence, gastric pain, anemia, and anorexia. It has also been documented to possess antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, anti-ulcer, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, antidepressant, analgesic, immunomodulatory, and cytotoxic activity. Long-term use of A. absinthium essential oil may cause toxic and mental disorders in humans with clinical manifestations including convulsions, sleeplessness, and hallucinations. Combination chemotherapies of artemisia extract or its isolated active constituents with the currently available antibabesial or anti-malarial drugs are now documented to relieve malaria and piroplasmosis infections. The current review examines the phytoconstituents, toxic and biological activities of A. absinthium.
... Safari et al. (2016) reported that the improved growth performance and feed intake can be attributed to the up regulation of growth and appetite related genes expression (GH, IGF1 and Ghrl) in common carp fed on ferula powder. ALE has been found to possess immunomodulatory and antioxidative properties, which have been attributed to the monomer polyphenolic compounds which may help in improving the health status and the growth performance of animals (Ahmad et al., 2010;Chen et al., 2014; Unauthentifiziert | Heruntergeladen 02.02.20 12:24 UTC Koul et al., 2018;Naghavi et al., 2014). The findings of the present study also showed the potential of ALE to be used as a dietary phyto immunostimulant for common carp. ...
In this study, the effect of artemisia ( Artemisia annua ) leaves extract (ALE) on the immune system, growth performance and antioxidant capacity of common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) was investigated. Fish with initial weight (90.32 ± 1.12 g) were fed various levels of ALE (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g/kg) for 8 weeks. The results showed that the growth performance (FW, WG, SGR, PER, and LER) in fish fed 1 g/kg ALE was increased significantly ( P <0.05) and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was improved in fish fed 1 and 1.5 g/kg ALE in comparison to the control group ( P <0.05). Skin mucus total protein was higher in fish fed diet containing 0.5 g/kg ALE than the other experimental groups ( P <0.05), while the lysozyme, immunoglobulin and protease was increased by increasing of ALE in diets. Respiratory burst activity and serum immune parameters were higher in fish fed 0.5 g/kg ALE than the other treatments ( P <0.05). Increasing of catalase (CAT) and decreasing of malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed in fish fed ALE, while glutathione peroxidase (GPx) increased only in fish fed 0.5 g/kg ALE. Hence, it can be concluded that ALE has considerable potential as a natural immunostimulant and growth promotor supplement for the common carp’s aquaculture.
... In traditional medicine, Artemisia absinthium is believed to treat mental exhaustion and nervous depression, otalgia, chronic fever, anaemia, amenorrhoea, etc. (Wasim Ahmad, 2010). According to Guarrera (2005) and Wake et al. (2000), wormwood has been used in folk medicine as an antispasmodic, febrifuge, stomachic, cardiac stimulant, anthelmintic agent and for the restoration of declining mental function and inflammations of the liver. ...
Artemisia absinthium, a plant distributed worldwide, has been reported for its numerous traditional uses, and its phytoconstituents have been investigated in several previous publications. The current study was designed to investigate the chemistry and quality; i.e., the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities, of A. absinthium volatile oil from plant species growing in the central area of Saudi Arabia compared to reported data for the plant growing in other parts of the world. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) spectroscopic analyses, in addition to in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic assays, were conducted to fulfill the aims, and integrated the study’s conclusion. A total of 34 compounds representing 99.98% of the essential oil of the plant were identified; among them, cis-davanone was found at the highest concentration (52.51%) compared to the other constituents. In addition, α-gurjunene (7.15%), chamazulene (3.38%), camphene (3.27), γ-eudesmol (2.49%), pinocarvone (2.18%), and ocimenone (2.03%) were also identified as major constituents of the plant’s essential oil. The total percentage of davanones (53%) was the highest percentage found in the plant species growing elsewhere in the world. The antioxidant assays; i.e., the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-scavenging activity (DPPH-SA), evidenced the potential in vitro antioxidant activity of the A. absinthium essential oil, with 35.59, 10.54, and 24.00 mg Trolox equivalent per gram of the essential oil. In addition, the metal-cheating activity (MCA) of the essential oil was measured at 29.87 mg ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) equivalent per gram of the essential oil. Moreover, a limited cytotoxic effect of the essential oil against all tested cell lines was observed, which might be considered as an indicator of the safety of A. absinthium as a worldwide edible plant. In conclusion, the study confirmed the variations in the A. absinthium essential oil constituents in response to the environmental conditions. The study also highlighted the potential health benefits of the plant’s essential oil as an antioxidant agent.
In the present study, the yield, the chemical composition, and the antioxidant activities of the essential oils (EOs) of eight medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) cultivated under two environmental conditions characterized by a different altitude (namely mountainous and plain) were evaluated. Cultivation at different environmental conditions resulted in significant differences in the chemical composition and antioxidant activity for most of the studied species. In particular, high altitudes resulted in increased phenolic compounds’ content and antioxidant activity for artemisia plants, while specific parameters increased in the case of spearmint (total phenols) and rosemary (flavonoids). In contrast, in pelargonium, all the tested parameters were positively affected in the plain area, whereas, for laurel and sage, only flavanols remained unaffected. EO yield in mountainous pelargonium and spearmint decreased while, in mountainous laurel, pelargonium and spearmint increased when compared to plain areas. In addition, the major EO constituents’ content for most of the species were affected by environmental conditions. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were variably correlated with total phenols, flavonoids, and flavanols, depending on the species and the altitude. Lastly, in limited cases, antioxidant activity (DPPH or FRAP values) was positively correlated with some EO components (e.g., borneol and β-pinene in artemisia and laurel plants grown in the plain, respectively, or 1,8-cineole in mountainous grown verbena plants). In conclusion, environmental conditions (altitude) affected antioxidants’ content and EO yield and composition of the studied MAPs. These findings can be used to introduce cultivation of MAPs in specific ecosystems for the production of high added value products.
Plants have been used since ancient times as a source of medicines, some active ingredients with pharmacological activity have been successfully obtained from these, traditional known about their use have served to treat diversity of diseases. Mexican plants (Costus pulverulentus, Sechium edule, Tabernaemontana alba and Vernonia patens) used in Mexican traditional medicine and recommended by people of Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, were collected, aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts were produced and their capacity to inhibit both the proliferation and tumor growth was evaluated in vitro using the human cervical cancer SiHa cell line. Two types of assays were performed: a) Inhibition of cell proliferation and b) Tumor size reduction in vitro. Hydroalcoholic extracts of all the plants and the aqueous extract of S. edule and T. alba inhibited cell proliferation. S. edule hydroalcoholic extract of aerial parts showed the highest inhibitory activity at the smallest concentrations with IC50 of 16.5 µg/mL. All hydroalcoholic extracts and the aqueous extract of T. alba reduced the size of tumors formed in vitro. The hydroalcoholic extract of V. patens showed the highest inhibitory activity 40.5% at 1 µg/mL. Contradictory results were observed with V. patens extracts, the aqueous extracts increased tumor size, whereas the hydroalcoholic extract showed the highest inhibitory activity.
Artemisinin and its analogues are naturally occurring most effective antimalarial secondary metabolites. These compounds also possess activity against various types of cancer cells, schistosomiasis, and some viral diseases. Artemisinin and its derivatives (A&D) are found in very low amounts in the only natural source i.e. Artemisia plant. To meet the global needs, plant sources have been exploited for the enhanced production of these natural products because their chemical synthesis is not profitable. The generally adopted approaches include non-transgenic (tissue and cell cultures) and transgenic together with the cell, tissue, and whole transgenic plant cultures. The genes targeted for the overproduction of A&D include the biosynthetic pathway genes, trichome development genes and rol genes, etc. Artemisinin is naturally produced in trichomes of leaves. At the same time, transgenic hairy roots are considered a good source to harvest artemisinin. However, the absence of trichomes in hairy roots suggests that artemisinin biosynthesis is not limited to trichomes. Moreover, the expression of the gene involved in trichome development and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis (TFAR1) in transgenic and non-transgenic roots provokes researchers to look for new insight of artemisinin biosynthesis. Here we discuss and review precisely the various biotechnological approaches for the enhanced biosynthesis of A&D.
Graphical Abstract
Clinical Efficacy of Artemisia absinthium Linn. in Viral Hepatitis with special reference to Ejection Fraction of Heart
- M Anwar
Anwar, M., 1998. Clinical Efficacy of Artemisia absinthium Linn. in Viral Hepatitis with special reference to Ejection Fraction of Heart, Hamdard Medicus XLl (3): 93-95