.  doi: 10.3390/molecules25194415

. Published online 2020 Sep 25

Halina Ekiert,^1,* Joanna Pajor,¹ Paweł Klin,² Agnieszka Rzepiela,³ Halina Ślesak,⁴ and Agnieszka Szopa

Abstract

Artemisia vulgaris L. (common mugwort) is a species with great importance in the history of medicine and was called the “mother of herbs” in the Middle Ages. It is a common herbaceous plant that exhibits high morphological and phytochemical variability depending on the location where it occurs. This species is well known almost all over the world. Its herb—Artemisiae vulgaris herba—is used as a raw material due to the presence of essential oil, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenoids lactones and their associated biological activities. The European Pharmacopoeia has listed this species as a potential homeopathic raw material. Moreover, this species has been used in traditional Chinese, Hindu, and European medicine to regulate the functioning of the gastrointestinal system and treat various gynecological diseases. The general aim of this review was to analyze the progress of phytochemical and pharmacological as well as professional scientific studies focusing on A. vulgaris. Thus far, numerous authors have confirmed the beneficial properties of A. vulgaris herb extracts, including their antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antispasmolytic, antinociceptive, estrogenic, cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal effects. In addition, several works have reviewed the use of this species in the production of cosmetics and its role as a valuable spice in the food industry. Furthermore, biotechnological micropropagation of A. vulgaris has been analyzed.

Keywords: medical history, traditional medicine, chemical composition, biological activity, safety of use

1. Introduction

In 2015, the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin, a compound of plant origin found in Artemisia annua (annual mugwort), inspired the researchers to study the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of other species of the genus Artemisia. Recently, this species has been taken under consideration to be active toward the virus SARS-CoV-2 and disease COVID-19 [1,2].

Artemisia vulgaris L. (common mugwort) is one of the best-known species of this genus, which has a widespread distribution in the natural habitats worldwide (Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa). For many centuries, this species has been mainly used for treating gynecological ailments and gastrointestinal diseases [3,4,5,6,7]. Recently, researches have proved that this species exhibits antioxidant, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, antispasmolytic, analgesic, estrogenic, cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, hypotensive, and broncholytic effects [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17].

The different applications of this plant species have been possible due to its rich chemical composition, which especially includes essential oils, flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, phenolic acids, coumarins, and other groups of metabolites.

The presence of essential oil in A. vulgaris contributes to the significance of this species as a culinary spice in the food industry in various regions of the world. Currently, this species is also increasingly used in the production of cosmetics in Europe as well as in Asia and North America [14,18,19,20].

The latest review on A. vulgaris presented by Brazilian–Iran and Malaysian teams highlighted the value of this plant species from the South American–Asian point of view [21].

The present review provides classical information about the importance of A. vulgaris in therapeutics and the food industry from the European point of view and additionally discusses the possible new applications of this plant species in phytotherapy as a hepatoprotective, broncholytic, anthelmintic, and cytotoxic agent and in the cosmetics industry as a raw material in Europe, East Asia (especially in Korea), and North America.

Reference:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7583039/