Artemisia, being the widely distributed genus of the plant family Asteraceae encompasses about 500 species. Among them, Artemisia absinthium (A. absinthium) is a well-known herb commonly known as Wormwood and Afsanteen. A. absinthium reported to possess several therapeutic benefits in fever, inflammation, epilepsy, gastric problems and urinary disorders. Review of literature included PubMed, Science Direct searches with 'A. absinthium' and 'Wormwood' as initial key words. The search was further refined by looking for terms such as 'Constituents' (or composition) and 'Activity' (or effect) within the results. The major bioactive constituents of Wormwood are mono and sesquiterpenes. The present review comprises up to date information of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of A. absinthium. The A. absinthium is a rich source of chemically novel compounds and needs elaborate screening strategies to dwell into the pharmacological effects of its phytoconstituents at the molecular level. This review article provides preliminary information and gives a direction for the basic and clinical research on A. absinthium.

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Context: Traditionally, Inula racemosa Hook. f. (Asteraceae) has been reported to be effective in cancer treatment which motivated the authors to explore the plant for novel anticancer compounds. Objective: To isolate and characterize new cytotoxic phytoconstituents from I. racemosa roots. Materials and methods: The column chromatography of I. racemosa ethyl acetate extract furnished a novel sesquiterpene lactone whose structure was established by NMR (1D/2D), ES-MS and its cytotoxic properties were assessed on HeLa, MDAMB-231, and A549 cell lines using MTT and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) assays. Further, morphological changes were analyzed by flow cytometry, mitochondrial membrane potential, AO-EtBr dual staining, and comet assay. Molecular docking and simulation were performed using Glide and Desmond softwares, respectively, to validate the mechanism of action. Results: The isolated compound was identified as racemolactone I (compound 1). Amongst the cell lines tested, considerable changes were observed in HeLa cells. Compound 1 (IC 50 ¼ 0.9 mg/mL) significantly decreased cell viability (82%) concomitantly with high LDH release (76%) at 15 mg/mL. Diverse morphological alterations along with significant increase (9.23%) in apoptotic cells and decrease in viable cells were observed. AO-EtBr dual staining also confirmed the presence of 20% apoptotic cells. A gradual decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential was observed. HeLa cells showed significantly increased comet tail length (48.4 mm), indicating broken DNA strands. In silico studies exhibited that compound 1 binds to the active site of Polo-like kinase-1 and forms a stable complex. Conclusions: Racemolactone I was identified as potential anticancer agent, which can further be confirmed by in vivo investigations.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the development of alternative medicines for maintaining glucose homeostasis in diabetes, specifically by screening plant extracts as well as their isolated compounds for their ability to delay or prevent carbohydrate metabolism and absorption. The objective of present study was to undertake in-vitro and in-vivo studies to generate a stronger biochemical rationale for the management of post prandial hyperglycaemia (PPHG) with charantin. In this study, charantin (β-sitosteryl glucoside) was isolated from Momordica charantia Linn. by normal phase column chromatography and screened for the inhibition of key enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism. Charantin showed mild αamylase (IC50 2.71± 0.21 mg/mL) and strong α-glucosidase (IC50 1.82±0.15 mg/mL) inhibitory activity. The positive in-vitro enzyme inhibition tests paved way for confirmatory in-vivo studies. The in-vivo studies demonstrated that charantin (20 mg/kg, b.w.) given orally significantly (P<0.01) reduced area under curve (AUC) in mice when challenged with oral administration of starch and sucrose separately. The reduction in AUC by charantin was comparable to that of acarbose (10 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.). These studies indicated the potential of charantin to prevent PPHG by inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes.

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