Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of the Artemisia genus, mugwort is also called wormwood and sagebrush. Several species grow throughout the world, with various uses.
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The principle European mugwort species is Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. Documented medicinal use of the plant dates to the first century BCE. Mugwort is used for medicinal, spiritual, and culinary properties.
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Mugwort today is often in foods and drinks. Of the Asian varieties, Artemisia argyi is used in Chinese traditional and folk medicine. Artemisia is popular in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditional medicine.
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Leaves can be added to food or as the source of oil extracts. They're used in tinctures, or burned in moxibustion, the application of burning or smoking leaves to various parts of the body in a spiritual healing capacity.
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The common mugwort plant can be used as an anthelminthic, or treatment for parasitic worms in animals. The downy hairs on the underside of the leaves can be scraped off and used as effective tinder or oil lamp wicks. Mugwort has been used to treat insomnia.
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The leaves are fragrant and tend toward bitterness. Leaves and early spring shoots can be eaten cooked or raw. Buds are best gathered in July-September just before mugwort flowers.
Mugwort essential oil varies in composition and effect depending on
plant species
habitat
parts of plant used
harvest season
Mugwort pollen is a main cause of allergic reactions. The plant releases pollen in late summer and autumn.
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Medical treatments and benefits of Artemisia include:
Culinary as food or tea: used to treat digestive, circulatory and respiratory health problems
Salve: applied to skin, treats lesions, rashes, bruises, itch, poison ivy, eczema, body odor
Tincture or Extract: to treat fevers, stomach ache, liver conditions, cough and cold
Essential Oil, various compounds: treats blood pressure problems, tumor growth and issues of menstrual cycle. The oil also has anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, and antimicrobial effects
Moxibustion: dry leaves burned on pressure points of the body. In traditional Asian medicine, moxibustion is a form of therapy used to enhance healing with acupuncture. Leaves are burnt close to the skin, with a stick to apply heat.
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In North America mugwort is considered an invasive species. North American mugworts include the absinthe ingredient wormwood and the spice tarragon. Mugwort includes pasture sagewort, tea of which is taken to treat colds and fevers.
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Mugwort is used for skin conditions, and as snuff to relieve congestion, nosebleeds and headaches. Mugwort tea is made with boiled water over crushed leaves. Tarragon plants are boiled for washes and poultices in treatment of swollen feet and legs, and snow blindness.
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Western mugwort is also known as 'women's sage' as leaf tea is taken to ease menstrual irregularity. It's also a treatment for indigestion, coughs, and chest infections. Western mugwort smoke is used to disinfect contaminated areas and revive patients from comas.
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Its components include camphor, cineole, α- and β-thujone, artemisia ketone borneol and bornyl acetate, as well as a vast range of other phenols, terpenes, and aliphatic compounds. The presence and concentration of thujone varies largely by species and condition.
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Camphor comes with some health warnings. Camphor cream or ointment is toxic if ingested. Applied on skin, camphor may cause allergic reactions.
Symptoms of camphor poisoning include
irritability
disorientation
lethargy
muscle spasms
vomiting
abdominal cramps
convulsions
seizures
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Ingestion of two grams causes serious toxicity and four grams is potentially lethal. Airborne camphor may be poisonous. As an insecticide Artemisia is especially effective against insect larvae. If overused on garden plants it will weaken or kill them.
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In humans and other animals, active element thujone excites the brain by blocking gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), a calming neurotransmitter. Although health benefits are linked to this compound, ingesting excessive thujone is toxic. It can cause seizures and death.
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Alpha-thujone is the toxic agent in absinthe. It's the active ingredient of wormwood oil and some other herbal medicines and is reported to have antinociceptive (immune boosting) qualities. It's also considered insecticidal and anthelmintic (treats parasitic worms).
Leaves and flowers can be used as a bitter flavoring agent to season fat, meat and fish. Like yarrow (Achillea), mugwort is used in gruit to flavor beer before the production of hops. The term "gruit" comes from regions of the Netherlands, Belgium, and northwest Germany.
Brewing beer with hops goes back to the ninth century in Germany. The famous Deutsches Reinheitsgebot or purity law for beer is established in 1516, restricting the ingredients. Gruit is created for specialty beers and as a digestive after dinner.
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