Artemisia Stripchat
Medicinal plants have been used for centuries and are now the foundation of many pharmaceuticals. The genus Artemisia, known as wormwood or mugwort, is one of the most widely used medicinal plant species worldwide.
Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Baroque painter, is gaining renewed attention during the #MeToo movement. She is best known for her depictions of women being tormented by men.
Medicinal Properties
The genus of Artemisia is an important medicinal plant that contains volatile oils, polyphenols and sesquiterpenoids. These compounds have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities in preclinical studies, including antimalarial and antioxidant properties, antitumor activity, antidiabetic properties, antinociceptive properties, and neuroprotective properties.
The discovery of the molecule, artemisinin, from a species of the genus, Artemisia annua, led to the development of modern antimalarial drugs. Artemisia is a genus that contains approximately 450 species. Many of these have been used in Asia and China as traditional remedies for various ailments.
In addition to the discovery of artemisinin, other members of this genus also have medicinal properties. Several members of the genus are anti-infectives, such as A. absinthium, known as wormwood, which is used to make the traditional drink, absinthe, but which is now restricted in most countries due to its neurotoxicity.
Other species of the Artemisia genus are known to have antiviral properties and could be promising sources for COVID-19 medications or vaccines. A few examples include Artemisia judaica, Artemisia parviflora Roxb. Ex Don and A. vestta are endemic to India’s Jammu and Kashmir. The phytochemicals of these plants are scopoletin, ruin, naringenin, salicylic acid and isoeugenol. They also have antifungal activity, both against phytopathogenic fungi as well as insect pests. The adsorption of some of the volatile oil components by lung cells is also reported.
Composition phytochemical
Since centuries, the search and development for medicines using natural raw materials have been a major area of human science. The discovery of an antimalarial agent called artemisinin that was extracted from Artemisia annaua gave new impetus in this research area.
The present study aimed to systematize scientific data on phytochemical compositions of ethanol extracts of five different Artemisia L. (A. annua) species. Novichok, A. dracunculus cv. Smaragd, A. santonica cv. Citral, A. abrotanum cv. Euxin, and A. scoparia cv. Tavrida) selected at the Nikitsky Botanic Garden by the methods of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS-ESI). The ethanol extracts studied were used to predict antibacterial and antimycotic activity against phytopathogenic bacteria, fungi and soil nematodes.
The phytochemical analysis of the ethanol extracts from the examined plants showed that they contain various types of monoterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of the acyclic monoterpenoids groups of b-myrcene and trans-b- and cis-b-ocimene in the extracts of A. annua, A. dracunculus, A. santonica, and A. scoparia, as well as a-citral in the extracts of A. annua, a-citral in the extract of A. dracunculus, and a-citral in the extracts from A. abrotanum and A. scoparia. In addition, the acyclic diterpene alcohol of phytol was detected in the A. annua, A. abrotanum, A. santonica, A. scoparia, and A. dracunculus extracts. The GC-MS analysis also disclosed the presence of a group of phenolic acids: gentisic acid, chlorogenic acid, 3-O-feruloylquinic acid, ferulic acid, isochlorogenic acid, and rosmarinic acid in all the studied extracts.
Medical Applications
Traditional medicinal plants are a rich source of bioactive compounds with several biological activities. These plant-based remedies are less toxic and more effective than chemically synthesized drugs. They also possess healing properties, which are essential for the treatment of wounds.
Artemisia vestta (Kubsha), or Desert Wormwood, is a perennial flowering shrub with many medicinal properties. It is used to treat fever, chills, and malaria. This herbal medicine also has antiphlogistic and antihelmintic properties, as well as antiviral and antifungal effects. It is used to treat respiratory disorders, digestive tract infection and parasitic diseases.
In this study, the methanol extract of this medicinal plant was utilized in the fabrication of a novel wound dressing. The gelatin was used as the extraction solvent and the nanofibrous layer formed by Gelatin-Artemisia a. annua. L. extract was electrospun onto a PCL layer. The presence of characteristic peaks in the ATR-FTIR spectra of both the uncrosslinked and crosslinked samples confirmed the successful electrospinning process.
The results showed the fabricated dressing to have high mechanical strength, adsorption capability and biocompatibility. It also showed good proliferation and attachment to the human fibroblasts. Moreover, the results of the antibacterial activity test indicated that the prepared dressing had acceptable resistance against Staphylococcus aureus strain. It is necessary to investigate its other possible pharmacological effects.
Medical History
Artemisia species (wormwood, sweet Annie, mugwort) are used in medicine for their antimalarial and antihelmintic properties, as well as their sedative and anti-inflammatory effects. They have been traditionally used in the treatment of diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, and cancer. These plants’ chemical constituents (volatile and not-volatile), such as tannic and phenolic acid, sesquiterpenoid-lactones, flavonoids and bitter-imparting compounds play an important part in the herb’s biological activity.
Cucullia artemisiae was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found in Europe, Turkey, central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. The moth is small, dark green with pale body hairs. It is well camouflaged in the mugwort twigs where it feeds.
The apterae are moderately long and slender. They are greyish-green, with wax powdered legs and antennae. The siphunculus is black. Macrosiphoniella isoblonga has a siphunculus black that is 1.0 to 0.9 times longer than its cauda. The sclerites in front of the siphunculi are pale and hardly visible.
The mucilaginous honeydew exuded by aphids can provide food for birds, mammals, and predatory insects. The aphids are known to eat a variety of flowering plants, and in the past, were used as an ingredient in liqueurs. The bactericidal compounds from mugwort have also been identified, and an extract of the plant inhibited the secretion of EtOH-induced interleukin-1a and tumor necrosis factor-a.
