Artemisia annua – Importance in Traditional Medicine and Current State of Knowledge on the Chemistry, Biological Activity and Possible Applications

Abstract

Artemisia annua (annual mugwort) is a species that has long been used in traditional Asian medicine, mainly Chinese and Hindu. The species is widespread and known as a medicinal plant not only in Asia but also in Europe, in both Americas, and Australia. The species has become a subject of particular interest due to the 2015 Nobel Prize awarded for detecting the sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin in it and proving its antimalarial activities. The raw materials obtained from this species are Artemisiae annuae folium and Artemisiae annuae herba. The leaves are a raw material in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia. Both raw materials are in the International Pharmacopoeia published by the WHO. The main components of these raw materials are mainly specific sesquiterpene lactones, essential oil, flavonoids, coumarins, and phenolic acids. In traditional Asian medicine, the species is used, for example, in the treatment of jaundice and bacterial dysentery, as an antipyretic agent in malaria and tuberculosis, in the treatment of wounds and haemorrhoids, and in viral, bacterial, and autoimmune diseases. Professional pharmacological studies conducted today have confirmed its known traditional applications and explain previously unknown mechanisms of its biological action and have also found evidence of new directions of biological activity, including, among others, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, antitumour, and nephroprotective activities. The species is of growing importance in the cosmetics industry.

RETRACTED: Artemisia Extracts and Artemisinin-Based Antimalarials for COVID-19 Management: Could These Be Effective Antivirals for COVID-19 Treatment?

“…These artemisinin derivatives are the components of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which have been approved as front-line drugs for treating Plasmodium falciparum malaria [22][23][24]. They also show additional pharmacological benefits such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. In addition, A. annua has been extensively investigated and more than 600 chemical constituents have been identified .…”

[Retracted] Exploration of ACE‐Inhibiting Peptides Encrypted in Artemisia annua Using In Silico Approach

“…Artemisia annua is a short-day plant containing a high protein content and several essential amino acids. Due to high antimalarial activity, the Nobel Prize was awarded to the species in 2015 [ 19 ].…”

Effect of Yakae-Prajamduen-Jamod Traditional Thai Remedy on Cognitive Impairment in an Ovariectomized Mouse Model and Its Mechanism of Action

“…The phytochemical content in the extract was found to be in the following order: luteolin > gallic acid > myricetin > quercetin > coumestrol > genistein. Luteolin is an active constituent found in Carthamus tinctorius L., Phyllanthus emblica, Senna siamea, Coriandrum sativum, Cyperus rotundus, Nigella sativa, Saussurea lappa, and Artemisia annua [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]. Luteolin has been shown to have preventive and therapeutic value for neurodegenerative diseases, including cognitive decline in elderly patients, which has been linked to its phytoestrogenlike activities, antioxidant activity, and ability to relieve neuroinflammation via suppression of microglial activation in the brain [56][57][58].…”