Mugwort

Other names: common mugwort, felon herb, sailor’s tobacco

Scientific name: Artemisia vulgaris

Common names: Fleabane, mugwort

Ayurvedic names: damanaka, damana, Nagadamani 

Chinese name: Ai-hao,Ai ye

Bangladesh names: Nagadana

Arabic names:  المَريَميّة‏ (al maryamiyyah)

Rain Forest names:

Family: Compositae

Approximate number of species known:

Common parts used: Leaf, root, whole herb

Collection:

Annual/Perennial: Perennial

Height: 1 to 5 feet

Actions: Anti-bilious, bitter, emmenagogue, nervine, stimulant

Known Constituents: Oil inclluding cineole and thujone, tannins, resin, inulin

Constituents Explained:

Description: 

Another species related to wormwood, just like Santonica (wormseed) and Southernwood.  

Traditional Use:

Mugwort is often used as a bitter to stimulate digestion.  Sometimes used as a nervine, and to stimulate menstrual flow.

Has been used for gravel stones in the kidneys and bladder, and for fevers and gout.1

Has been used externally for bruises and absesses.  Was commonly combined with chickweed and slippery elm externally for this purpose.1

Clinical Studies:

A study investigated the specificity and efficacy of immunotherapy with Artemisia vulgaris (Artemisia) extract. 

25 patients with a more than two year lasting history of seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis and who had only two clinically important allergies, either to Artemisia and Betula verrucosa (Betula) or to Artemisia and Phleum pratense (Phleum) were studied.

Patient selection was randomized and evaluation of results was conducted in double blind fashion. Twenty patients completed two years of specific immunotherapy. Nine patients were treated with extracts of Artemisia and 11 with extracts of either Betula or Phleum.

Treatment with Artemisia was followed by a significant decrease in skin sensitivity and eye sensitivity to Artemisia but not to Betula/phleum. No significant decrease was observed in medicine consumption or symptom scores.

The treatment was both effective and specific with the one unexplained exception that both patient groups (Artemisia and Betula/Phleum) decreased their skin sensitivity to Artemisia.

Reference:

Olsen OT, Frolund L, Heinig J, Jacobsen L, Svendsen UG. “A Double-Blind, Randomized Study Investigating The Efficacy And Specificity Of Immunotherapy With Artemisia Vulagris Ot Phleum Pratense/Betula Verrucosa.” 1995 March-April http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8526170