International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Applied Sciences

  • Year: 2015
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue: 5

A review on history, controversy, traditional use, ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Artemisia absinthium Linn

  • Author:
  • Busineni Jayasimha Goud1, V. Dwarakanath, B.K. Chikka Swamy
  • Total Page Count: 31
  • DOI:
  • Page Number: 77 to 107

*Research Scholar, Department of Biotechnology, Sigma Bioscience Research center, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

**Department of Biotechnology, University College of Science, Tumkur University, Tumkur, Karnataka, India

***Department of Biotechnology, Sigma Bioscience Research center, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Artemisia absinthium, Absinthe, Folk medicine, Anti-helminthic, Phytochemistry, tubular flowers, Unani