Artemisia annua
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Artemisia annua L.
| Order | Asterales |
|---|---|
| Family | Compositae |
| Genus | Artemisia |
2n =
Origin : temperate Asia
wild and cultivated
| English | {{{english}}} |
|---|---|
| French | {{{french}}} |
Description
-
1, flowering stem; 2, stem base and roots; 3, flower head (PROSEA, Achmad Satiri Nurhaman)
Popular names
| English | sweet mugwort, sweet wormwood, sweet Annie, sweet sagewort, annual wormwood |
| French | armoise annuelle |
| Chinese | qīnghāo - 青蒿 |
Classification
Artemisia annua L. (1753)
Cultivars
History
Uses
Medicine
The species is the source of artemisinin, which has become from the 1970's one of the major treatments of paludism, alone or better in combination. The chemical may be obtained:
- by extraction from the plant;
- semi-synthesized from its precursor artemisinic acid. This precursor can be obtained from engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast or engineered Nicotiana benthamiana plant;
- totally synthesized.
Several chemical derivatives have been developed to offset the poor bioavailability of artemisinin.
Food
In Hubei Province (central China), the stems are used as a salad, pickled with rice vinegar. It is a delicacy.
References
- de Padua, L.S., Bunyapraphatsara, N. & Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (eds), 1999. Plant Resources of South-East Asia n° 12(1). Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands: 146.