The wormwood plant, a plant famous since ancient times, has been part of the medical system for ages. As the name suggests, wormwood is a plant famous for its ability to kill worms. There is a large variety of wormwood species, but the one that is a bit famous in history is sweet wormwood. Wormwood Benefits
Sweet wormwood is the common name ofArtenisia annua, anative plant of Asia. It is also commonly called sweet annie and annual wormwood. Sweet wormwood has been used for a variety of reasons since ancient times. It is most widely known today for the compound artemisinin derived from it. Artemisinin is the ruler of the antimalarial drug market, meaning it is the strongest antimalarial drug.
There are numerous sweet wormwood benefits but first look at the history of this plant.
Description of Sweet Wormwood
Sweet wormwood belongs to the family Asteraceae. This family consists of most of the flowering species. Sweet wormwood is a short-day plant. Its leaves have a characteristic aroma, which helps to get the prefix ‘sweet;. The plant height can range from 30 to 100 cm. The characteristics of the sweet wormwood are its velvety brownish stem and leaves consisting of three leafy whorls.
The plant is harvested for a variety of sweet wormwood benefits, but mostly for extracting artemisinin chemical compounds. The compound is the present leaf, which has to be dried. The harvesting of sweet wormwood from the compound is best suited after 190 to 240 days, just before flowering.
The plant natively belongs to Asia but was introduced as an exotic species in many European and American countries. It is a successful exotic plant as it is adaptable to a variety of climatic conditions. The best climatic conditions for better plant productivity essentially require sunny and warm conditions. The temperature can range from 20º to 25º C. The plant can be damaged by conditions of drought and waterlogging. The rainfall required ranges from 600mm to 1150mm. The soil should be rich in humus and have good seepage properties.
Discovery of Artemisinin
As most medications are discovered by accident, similarly, artemisinin was also discovered during a military project. Artemisinin was first discovered and extracted by a scientist in China, Tu Youyou.
A secret military project called Project 523 resulted in the discovery of the strongest anti-malaria drug of all time, artemisinin. The discovery and extraction took place in 1971. This discovery assisted Dr. Youyou to win the Lasker Prize in 2011 and the Noble Prize in 2015 in physiology and medicine.
Sweet wormwood had medicinal value, as mentioned in the histories of various countries, for the treatment of certain diseases. Several amazing wormwood benefits have been discovered and are still in process.
The Sweet Wormwood Benefits Are :-
The benefits of sweet wormwood are numerous. It is used in a variety of industries. Some of the most famous sweet wormwood benefits are mentioned here.
1. The most powerful anti-malaria drug
As the name suggests, wormwood is named after its ability to kill worms, or better yet, parasites. Malaria is a serious and infectious parasitic disease. It enters the human body through mosquito bites. Take over the human blood cell and use it to travel to different body parts to cause infection. Artemisinin, a chemical compound that is obtained from the sweet wormwood plant, is the strongest drug on the national malaria market. Can be said to be the boss of the anti-malarial drug market. It is best used in dried form. During ancient times and to date in some parts of the world, the leaves were desired and given as herbal tea for treatment.
2. The pain reliever
In the historical texts of Egypt, a variety of sweet wormwood is mentioned. One of them is a painkiller. Sweet wormwood was given as medicine in earlier times to the patient, who had abdominal pain. It is also used in the treatment of a variety of stomach infections. It is used in the form of essential oils to repair joint pain by reducing inflammation. Regardless of its ability to reduce joint pain, the plant should not be directly applied to the skin. It has the ability to burn the skin and cause allergies.
3. Killer of worms
As sweet wormwood gets its name from killing worms, it is used for the treatment of worms. Certain tests and studies on animals have proven that sweet wormwood benefits in fighting tapeworms. Tapeworm is one of the most dangerous and death-causing insect worms.
4. Historical Herb
It benefits in the treatment since ancient times. It was used in the late medieval medical systems of various Asian countries. It was also used as a scented herb for worship because of its characteristically sweet smell.
5. Several uses of sweet wormwood
It’s benefits, in the treatment of a variety of diseases. This includes cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s, as per the antioxidant compounds present in the plant.
6. The anti-inflammatory drug
The chemical compound artemisinin’s presence in the plant is not used to treat malaria but is used to treat several chronic diseases. Chronic diseases that are caused by prolonged inflammation can be treated with anti-inflammatory properties. Sweet wormwood benefits from reducing swelling and inflammation.
7. A sweet beverage
It not only from its medicinal value but is also an important ingredient in beverages. Absinthe drink is one of the most famous beverages of the 19th century, consisting of certain amounts of compounds from the plant.
Final Remarks
on an overall basis sweet wormwood benefits in many ways to the human kind. These historical texts prove their eternal use. Further experiments can also help in further discovery and benefit. These several sweet wormwood benefits prove the ability of nature to protect the world.
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