Review

. 2020 Jun 23;9(6):353.

doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9060353.

Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Actions, and Pharmacokinetics of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22511, AlBeheira, Egypt.
² Department of Biochemistry, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi 740272, Nigeria.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Menoufia University, Menouf 32511, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
⁶ Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, P. O. BOX 715, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry, University of Malakand, Chakdara Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18800, Pakistan.
⁹ National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacognosy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1, Komatsushima, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan.
¹¹ Área Académica de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Rancho Universitario Av. Universidad km 1, EX-Hda de Aquetzalpa, 43600 Tulancingo, Hgo, Mexico.

PMID: 32585887
PMCID: PMC7345338
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9060353

Review

Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Actions, and Pharmacokinetics of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Gaber El-Saber Batiha et al. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020.

. 2020 Jun 23;9(6):353.

doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9060353.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22511, AlBeheira, Egypt.
² Department of Biochemistry, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi 740272, Nigeria.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Menoufia University, Menouf 32511, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
⁶ Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, P. O. BOX 715, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry, University of Malakand, Chakdara Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18800, Pakistan.
⁹ National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacognosy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1, Komatsushima, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan.
¹¹ Área Académica de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Rancho Universitario Av. Universidad km 1, EX-Hda de Aquetzalpa, 43600 Tulancingo, Hgo, Mexico.

PMID: 32585887
PMCID: PMC7345338
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9060353

Abstract

Plants have been used since ancient times to cure certain infectious diseases, and some of them are now standard treatments for several diseases. Due to the side effects and resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics and most drugs on the market, a great deal of attention has been paid to extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from plant species used in herbal medicine. Artemisia absinthium is an important perennial shrubby plant that has been widely used for the treatment of several ailments. Traditionally, A. absinthium has always been of pharmaceutical and botanical importance and used to manage several disorders including hepatocyte enlargement, hepatitis, gastritis, jaundice, wound healing, splenomegaly, dyspepsia, indigestion, flatulence, gastric pain, anemia, and anorexia. It has also been documented to possess antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, anti-ulcer, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, antidepressant, analgesic, immunomodulatory, and cytotoxic activity. Long-term use of A. absinthium essential oil may cause toxic and mental disorders in humans with clinical manifestations including convulsions, sleeplessness, and hallucinations. Combination chemotherapies of artemisia extract or its isolated active constituents with the currently available antibabesial or anti-malarial drugs are now documented to relieve malaria and piroplasmosis infections. The current review examines the phytoconstituents, toxic and biological activities of A. absinthium.

Keywords: Artemisia absinthium; Traditional uses; biological activities; medicinal herb; phytochemical compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Aerial parts (A) and flower (B) of *Artemisia absinthium* [5,6].

**Figure 2**
Schematic representation of different pharmacological activities of *A. absinthium* and their mechanisms.

**Figure 3**
Schematic representation of different side effects of *A. absinthium* and its related compounds.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Actions, and Pharmacokinetics of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Affiliations

Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Actions, and Pharmacokinetics of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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