Botanical Name | Artemisia Vulgaris L. |
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Common Name | Artemisia, Wormwood |
Family | Compositae |
Parts of used | Leaves and young shoots |
Method of Extraction | Steam distillation |
Distribution | 300-2400m throughout Nepal |
Type of product | Wild crafted |
Artemisia Vulgaris L. is an aromatic and herbaceous perennial shrub that grows about 2.4 m tall with woody roots. Its leaves are alternate, lower leaves ovate in outline deeply pinnatisect with small stipule like lobes at the base, pubescent above and tomentose beneath, uppermost leaves smaller, 3-fid or entire, lanceolate. Flowers are sub-globose heads in sub-erect or horizontal panicled racemes. Fruit oblong-ellipsoid minute achene and flowering season are June-July.
Artemisia wild-crafted essential oil is widely used as a medicine. Its domestic use as a medicine is more popular in Nepal. Oil is obtained through the distillation of leaves and young shoots. The leaves and flowering stems of Artemisia indica are anthelmintic, antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, emmenagogue, expectorant, and stomachic. An infusion is used in the treatment of nervous and spasmodic affections, in asthma and diseases of the brain. This infusion is also considered to help improve the appetite. The juice of the plant is used in Nepal to treat diarrhea, dysentery, and abdominal pains. It is used as an eyewash where it is said to relieve the burning sensation in conjunctivitis. A paste of the plant is applied externally to treat wounds. The roots are antiseptic and are a tonic for the kidneys.
Thujone, cineol, pinene.
Artemisia oil is a stomachic, purgative, de-obstruent, anti-spasmodic, anthelmintic, insecticide, and prescribed in infusion and electuary in case of obstructed manse and hysteria. It cures asthma, itching, anorexia, gastritis, rheumatism, bronchitis, fever, headache, hemorrhage, and diarrhea. Externally it is used in skin diseases and foul ulcers. It is also used in the treatment of sleep disorders and ailments of gastrointestinal tracts, such as insomnia, anorexia, low appetite, flatulence, stomach aches, and jaundice.
Artemisia Oil—due to Thujone component–has febrifuge & vermifuge property. Therefore, it is used to kill microbes and inhibit their growth. The oil is also used as a tonic for enhancing the digestive, circulatory, excretory, and other organ systems of the human body.
It is widely used in sprays and vaporizers as an insect repellent.