Artemisia apiacea

Artemisia apiacea Hance, Ann. Bot. Syst. (Walpers) 2(5): 895 (1852).

(Artemisia apiacea Hance; Photo hppr.org and tcmwiki.com)

Latin Name: Artemisia apiacea Hance

Family & Genus: Asteraceae, Artemisia

Synonym Name: Artemisia apiacea var. apiacea

English Name: Celery Sagebrush, Celery Wormwood

Chinese Name: 青蒿 Qinghao

Vietnamese Name: Thanh hao; Hương hao, Thanh cao ngò.

Description: Annual herbs; plant aromatic. Main root single, lateral root less. Stem erect, solitary, 30-150cm, upper multi-branched, green when young, lower slightly woody, glabrous. Basal leaves and leaves at lower stem pectinately bipinnate, with long petioles, leaves falling during flowering; middle leaves oblong, oblong-ovate or elliptic, pectinately bipinnate, first parted, lobes oblong, base cuneate; upper leaves and bract leaves pectinately monopinnate (to bipinnate), sessile. Capitulums semi-spherical or nearly semi-spherical, diameter 3.5-4mm, with short stalk, droopy, base with linear small bracts, arranged to spikes type racemes on branches, and combined to medium expanded panicles on stem; involucral bracts 3-4 layers, outside layer involucral bracts narrow and small, long-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, back green, glabrous, with fine white spots, margin wide membranous, middle layer involucral bracts relatively large, wide-ovate or long-ovate, margin membranous, inside layer involucral bracts semi-membranous or membranous, top round; inflorescence receptacle spherical; flowers pale yellow; 10-20 female flowers, corolla narrowly tubular, style expanded to outside of corolla tube, apex with 2 bifurcations, bifurcation end acute; 30-40 bisexual flowers, corolla tubular, anthers linear, length of style the same as or slightly longer than that of corolla, top with 2 bifurcations, bifurcation end truncated, with hairs. Achenes oblong to elliptic. Flowering and fruiting: June to September.

Distribution: Growing in low-altitude, humid riverbank sandy soil, valleys, forest edges and roadsides. Distributed in Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Henan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan.

Part Used: Medical part: entire plant. Chinese name: Qinghao.

Harvest & Processing: Collected in autumn, sun-dried and cut into segments.

Chemistry: Terpenoids and coumarins: alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, beta-sitosterol, 5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin and 6-methoxy-7,8-methylenedioxycoumarin. Artemisterol (stigmast-5-en-3β,29-diol 29-p-hydroxycinnamate), α-amyrin, β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, 5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin, and 6-methoxy-7,8-methylenedioxycoumarin

Pharmacology: anti-oxidant activities, inflammatory.

Properties & Actions: Bitter, cold. Cleat heat, cooling blood, removing deficiency-heat and relieving summer-heat.

Indications & Usage: Feverish tuberculosis, malaria, pyrexia with no sweat due to sunstroke. Internal: decocting, 3-9g.

References

- libproject.hkbu.edu.hk

- efloras.org

- theplantlist

- Kim KS, Lee S, Lee YS, Jung SH, Park Y, Shin KH, Kim BK.; Anti-oxidant activities of the extracts from the herbs of Artemisia apiacea.; J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Mar;85(1):69-72.

- Ji Choul RyuSang Mi ParkMin HwangboShow; Methanol Extract of Artemisia apiacea Hance Attenuates the Expression of Inflammatory Mediators via NF-κB Inactivation; 2013 Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2013(3):494681

- Lee S, Kim KS, Shim SH, Park YM, Kim BK. Constituents from the non-polar fraction of Artemisia apiacea. Archives of Pharmacal Research. 2003 Nov; 26(11):902-905.

- Sung-Jin Lee, Hye Min Kim, Jeong Min Lee, Hee Seung Park & Sanghyun Lee (2008) Artemisterol, a new steryl ester from the whole plant of Artemisia apiacea, Journal of Asian Natural Products Research.