Beneficial properties of wormwood and safety measures during treatment. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) What is the name of wormwood

Wormwood is a perennial herbaceous or subshrub plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Very few wormwood species are annuals. In Latin, the plant sounds like Artemisia. It is assumed that the word translated means “healthy”. Some researchers believe that the interpretation of the name of the plant is associated with the name of the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Residents of Turkmenistan call it Yevshan, Emshan; Kazakhstan - Zhusan.


Appearance

The height of the plant ranges from 100 to 150 cm. The root of wormwood is thick and woody.

The stem of wormwood is straight, covered with whitish-silver fluff. The leaves are large, alternate, pinnately divided. In this case, as a rule, the leaves that are located in the lower part of the plant are quite large. They become smaller as they move towards the top.

Wormwood flowers are small, reddish, form panicle-shaped inflorescences, which can be either erect or drooping. There are species of wormwood with yellow flowers that look like small balls. Their size is approximately 5 mm in diameter.

The fruit of wormwood is an achene, smooth and small.



Kinds

Approximately 180 species of wormwood are found in Russia, and there are 400 in total.

  • It grows everywhere in Russia. A very tall plant - up to 150 cm. The rhizome of this type of wormwood is branched, reddish closer to the stem. The leaves have a dark green upper part, and their inner side is whitish. The flowers of wormwood are very small, pink. Flowering period – June – August. By September the seeds ripen. (photo 1)
  • characterized by a tart-bitter aroma, in which there are inclusions of lemon and camphor. This type of wormwood is also called God's tree, in German - Eberreis, Gartenheil, Strangenkraut. Translated from English it sounds like “southern forest” - Southernwood, “old man” - Old man. The French call medicinal wormwood – Aurone, Citronelle. Once upon a time it could be seen in the gardens of peasants or at monasteries. Today it is forgotten. Southern and South-Eastern Europe, Western and Western Asia - this is the current range of medicinal wormwood. Medicinal wormwood is a frost-resistant shrub that reaches 1.5 m in height. If we conditionally divide the plant into three parts, we will see that it begins to branch in the upper third. The leaves are filigree-pinnate, gray-green in color, and the flowers are yellow. (photo 2)
  • In German it sounds like Absinth, Bitterkraut, Gottvergess, in English - Wormwood, Absinth, in French - Absinthe, Annoise amere. The height of this subshrub is 120 cm. It is no coincidence that the plant is called “wormwood”. Its taste speaks for itself: it is rightfully considered the most bitter plant in Russia. Wormwood is resistant to drought and frost. The leaves of wormwood resemble parsley leaves in appearance, but their color is silvery-gray. The flowers are yellow tubes, which are collected in balls (diameter about 4 mm), located in one-sided tassels. Flowering period – July-September. (photo 3)
  • Tarragon or, as it is also called, tarragon. Despite the fact that tarragon is a type of wormwood, there is no bitterness in its leaves, so it is widely used in cooking for preservation or as an additive to meat dishes. The aroma of tarragon is a synthesis of vanilla and hay odors. The plant is very short compared to other types of wormwood - only 30 cm. Tarragon flowers are small white stars. In other languages ​​it sounds like this: German – Duftlabkraut, Maiblume, Maikraut; English – Sweet woodruff, French – Asperule odorante, Reine-des-bois. (photo 4)

There are types of wormwood that are very poisonous: tauride, paniculata.




Where does it grow?

The habitat of wormwood is the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, the northern and southern parts of the African continent, North America. In Russia, wormwood can be found almost everywhere. The most common places are the steppe and desert parts of Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Belarus. Wormwood can occupy a vast area of ​​dry, rocky and infertile territory, forming true thickets. This applies to low-growing species.

Method of making spices

Medicinal wormwood uses both leaves and flowers. Flowers are collected before the flowering period, while they are in bud state. Wormwood is also used in dried form. The most important thing in the process of procuring raw materials is the collection period. If the plant is cut too late, it will darken during the drying process, and the inflorescences collected in baskets will simply crumble.

For drying, use a dark room with good ventilation. Attics are good for this. If wormwood is dried spread out, the layer should be thin. It is imperative to turn the raw materials over.


  • Wormwood has a unique, slightly bitter odor. He is very strong. It can be described with the words “intoxicating and intoxicating.”
  • Wormwood is a bitter plant. If you pick a sprig of wormwood and crush it in your hands a little, your hands will become bitter.
  • The plant reproduces by seeds. One plant produces about 100 thousand seeds per summer.

Nutritional value and calorie content

Calorie content of wormwood in its raw form – 32 kcal

Wormwood in its raw form contains:

  • Proteins – 0.33 g
  • Fat – 0.52 g
  • Carbohydrates – 3.6 g
  • Dietary fiber – 3.8 g
  • Water – 89 g
  • Ash – 2.5 g

You can find out more information about wormwood from an excerpt from the program “Lucky Mood”

Chemical composition

Wormwood herb contains:

  • Tannins.
  • Mucous and resinous substances.
  • Carotene.
  • Vitamins C, A, group B.
  • Saponins.
  • Alkaloids.
  • Coumarins.
  • Essential oil (cineole, borneol, α-thujene).
  • Macro and microelements: Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mg, Se.

The roots contain:

  • Tannins and mucilaginous substances
  • Resins.
  • Sahara.
  • Essential oil (0.5 – 2%)

Beneficial features

  • Wormwood has a positive effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
  • It has antiseptic, antipyretic and analgesic properties.
  • Strengthens the body.
  • Stimulates appetite.
  • Calms the nervous system.
  • Fights helminths.
  • Normalizes sleep and the menstrual cycle.
  • Has antitussive properties.


Wormwood helps in the treatment of diabetes

Harm

Contraindications

  • Pregnancy and lactation.
  • Anemia.
  • Stomach ulcer, gastritis with low acidity.
  • Individual intolerance.
  • Various bleedings.
  • Menstruation period in women.


Wormwood can cause allergies; it should also not be taken if blood clotting is low, after surgery or abortion.

Application

In cooking

  • Medicinal wormwood is used to flavor pork and veal dishes. It will not harm the goose and duck. Due to the fact that the plant has a very strong odor, it should be used with caution. It will add piquancy to sauces, drinks, and liqueurs.
  • The main use of wormwood is in the distillery industry (the most important component of absinthe and vermouth). It is added in very small quantities to meat dishes. Pairs perfectly with roast goose.


Wormwood dumplings are a popular Thai dish.

In medicine

As a rule, the above-ground component of wormwood is used for treatment. Tinctures, decoctions, and extracts are prepared from it. Internally, you can use wormwood powder (3 times a day, half a gram before meals) and juice (a tablespoon mixed with honey). Only the juice that is squeezed from the plant before it blooms is useful.


In cosmetology

  • Washing your hair with wormwood infusion is useful for hair that is prone to oiliness.
  • Baths to which wormwood is added slow down the aging process of the body.


Wormwood fights hair loss and strengthens hair follicles

Growing

Growing wormwood in your garden will not be difficult, due to the unpretentiousness of this type of plant. Plus, wormwood is frost-resistant. Therefore, rest assured that your plant will calmly survive the harshest winter. Soil fertility is also not particularly important for wormwood.

Wormwood propagates by seeds. Perennials can simply be planted like a regular overgrown crop.

But tarragon needs special care. Otherwise, you will get a plant that will not have the unique aroma for which it is valued. The plant should not be watered abundantly, only on dry days it should be slightly increased. Beware of stagnant water.

Tarragon is transplanted in spring or autumn. Divide the bush, and after transplanting, water it well. If you decide to plant tarragon with seeds, then they should be planted in early spring and covered with film. Don't forget about watering and ventilation. Shoots will appear in 1.5 weeks.


  • In ancient times, the Slavs used wormwood to cleanse their inner world and the world of reality from the influence of evil spirits and entities. On the holiday of Ivan Kupala, girls wove wreaths from wormwood and used them to tell fortunes about the future.
  • Wormwood was used to make powerful talismans and amulets that could protect the owner from their worst enemies.
  • Wormwood elixirs were a love spell and at the same time could cause damage.
  • Wormwood was used by fishermen as a means of protection against all aquatic evil spirits: mermaids, merman.
  • A wormwood branch placed above the doorway protected the inhabitants of the home from negativity.
  • Queen Cleopatra used wormwood oil as an additive to her eau de toilette.
  • In ancient times, wormwood was used to dye fabrics.
  • Wormwood was used to fumigate hospital premises during times of fevers and epidemics.
Wormwood

Scientific classification
Kingdom:

Plants
Department:

Flowering plants
Class:

Dicotyledons
Order:

Astroflowers
Family:

Asteraceae
Genus:
View:

Wormwood
International scientific name

Artemisia absinthium L., 1753
Species in taxonomic databases
CoL

Wormwood(lat. Artemisia absinthium) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family ( Asteraceae).

Description

Botanical illustration from a book "Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen", 1887

Top of a flowering plant

A perennial herbaceous plant, up to 2 m high, with a short, branched, woody root. The stems are erect, round, woody at the base, branched in the upper part. Basal leaves on long petioles, doubly or triply pinnately divided; the lower stem ones are on shorter petioles, bipinnately divided, the middle ones are sessile, pinnately divided, the upper ones are trifoliate and simple, entire, lanceolate. The stems, leaves, and basket wrappers are densely pubescent with short, appressed hairs, so the entire plant has a grayish-silver color.

Flower baskets are small, 2.5-5 mm in diameter, drooping, spherical, collected in dense paniculate inflorescences. Flowers in baskets are tubular and yellow. The marginal flowers in each basket are female, the middle ones are bisexual. The fruits are brownish, oblong-wedge-shaped, finely grooved achenes up to 1 mm long.

The plant has a characteristic strong spicy odor and a very bitter taste.

Chemical composition

The leaves and flowering leafy tops of wormwood contain bitter sesquiterpene lactones absinthine and anabsintin, matricen, artabsin, artabine, arabsin; essential oil (up to 2%), consisting of terpenoids (thujone, thujol, azulene, thujol alcohol esters), ascorbic acid, organic acids (malic, acetic, succinic), tannins and other substances.

The essential oil is green-blue in color and poisonous in large quantities due to the presence of thujone. The yield of essential oil is from 0.2-0.5% to 0.7-2.0%.

Wormwood contains a significant amount of protein (15.6%), but at the same time quite a lot of fiber (34.1%).

Spreading

A plant with a wide range, covering all of Europe, Kazakhstan, Central and Asia Minor to India and Mongolia, North Africa and North America. In Russia, it is distributed throughout almost the entire territory of the European part, in Crimea, the Caucasus, and Western Siberia.

Common in all natural and administrative regions of the Saratov Right Bank. In the Rtishchevsky district, it was noted near the Tretyak grove, in the vicinity of the village of Svishchevka.

Features of biology and ecology

A typical ruderal plant. It grows in wastelands, landfills, other garbage places, in dry meadows, open slopes, downed steppes, pastures, fallow lands, near housing and livestock buildings, along roadsides and forest edges, less often in crops. On chernozems and dark chestnut soils it is often the predominant plant.

Propagated mainly by seeds, as well as vegetatively by adventitious buds formed on the root collar in the first year of life; in the second year they produce new shoots that begin to bloom and bear fruit the following year. It blooms in July - August, the seeds ripen in August - September. One plant produces up to 100,000 seeds over the summer.

Economic importance and application

In medicine

Wormwood has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Pliny wrote that a traveler who has wormwood with him will not feel tired on a long journey. Avicenna recommended it for seasickness. In Rus', back in the 17th century, wormwood juice was considered a good wound healing agent.

The medicinal raw material is the herb wormwood. The grass is harvested during the flowering period of the plant.

The aerial part is used in the form of infusion, tincture, thick extract, as a bitterness to stimulate appetite and improve digestion. Included in a delicious collection. The drug "Chamazulan", obtained from wormwood, is used as an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of bronchial asthma, rheumatism, eczema, and x-ray burns.

In folk medicine, infusion, tincture (orally) is used for gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, enterocolitis, liver and kidney diseases, anemia, ascariasis, insomnia, rheumatism, anemia, obesity, flatulence, migraine, pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension, fever, edema, hemorrhoids, bad breath, epilepsy, leucorrhoea, neurasthenia, paralysis, gout, heartburn, cholera, for the treatment of alcoholism, frequent fainting, shortness of breath, insect bites; externally (compresses, lotions) - for diseases of the joints, eyes, bruises; in the form of an ointment - for the treatment of wounds, ulcers, frostbite, burns, fistulas; in the form of enemas - against roundworms.

The juice is used to stimulate appetite and enhance the activity of the digestive tract. It regulates the functioning of the pancreas and stomach, normalizes acidity, increases bile secretion, relieves bloating and catarrhal symptoms in the stomach, inflammatory processes in the cecum, and eliminates spasms of the large intestine.

The herb wormwood is included in appetizing, choleretic and other preparations.

Wormwood is included in the pharmacopoeias of more than 20 countries. Used in homeopathy.

In other areas

It has been known in cultivation in monastery gardens since the 9th century. In Western Europe and America it is cultivated for the pharmaceutical and alcoholic beverage industries.

In distillery production, essential oil is used to flavor vodka, absinthe, vermouth, and the above-ground part is used to make chartreuse and pepper vodka. Long-term use of wormwood tinctures and vodkas can cause so-called wormwood epilepsy, therefore the production of absinthe is prohibited in Western Europe.

Powder from the wormwood herb is used as a seasoning for salads, meat and fish sauces.

Pale yellow, lemon, dark green, and dark blue dyes are obtained from the plant.

The decoction is an insecticide against gooseberry and currant moths, codling moths, copperhead moths, and flower beetles. The smell of the plant repels clothes moths, ants, fleas, and cockroaches.

In beekeeping it is used to combat bee theft and infectious diseases of bees - nosematosis.

Pets do not eat it; Since spring or when there is a lack of food, sheep and cows eat only leaves and inflorescences. B, in significant quantities gives milk and butter an unpleasant odor and bitter taste. The hay from this wormwood is quite readily eaten by rabbits.

In veterinary medicine it is used in small doses to increase appetite and improve digestion.

In Rus', wormwood was considered a ritual plant. At the beginning of summer, the Semik holiday was celebrated. On this day, young people “chased mermaids.” The girls wore wormwood under their arms all day to protect them from witches and mermaids. Seeing a girl with disheveled hair, when she asked: “What do you have in your hands?” You cannot answer “mint” or “parsley”, otherwise the mermaid will be tickled to death. You need to say “wormwood” - and the mermaid will immediately disappear. In addition, on this holiday, wormwood served as a love potion; one only had to whip the chosen one with wormwood stems during games.

In Belarus, it was believed that a bunch of wormwood suspended over the doors of a house protected its inhabitants from witchcraft. And in Russia, for the same purposes, at Christmas or New Year, houses and stables were fumigated with wormwood. For this purpose, wormwood was plucked only on the Assumption, August 28, consecrated in the church and stored until needed.

Wormwood is considered the strongest bitterness; it is not without reason that people also call it widow’s grass, comparing its bitterness with the bitter widow’s share.

Literature

  • Gubanov I. A., Kiseleva K. V., Novikov V. S., Tikhomirov V. N. Illustrated guide to plants of Central Russia. Volume 3: Angiosperms (dicots: dioecytes). - M: T-vo scientific publications KMK, Institute of Technological Research, 2004. - P. 335
  • Elenevsky A. G., Radygina V. I., Bulany Yu. I. Plants of the Saratov Right Bank (flora summary). - Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. pedin-ta, 2000. - ISBN 5-87077-047-5. - P. 70
  • Forage plants of hayfields and pastures of the USSR / ed. prof. I. V. Larina. - T. III Dicotyledons (Geraniaceae - Compositae). - M., L.: State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature, 1956. - P. 483-486
  • Weeds of the USSR. T. IV / ed. B. A. Keller. - L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1935. - P. 252-253
  • Universal Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants / Comp. I. Putyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - Mn.: Book House; M.: Makhaon, 2000. - pp. 236-238
  • Flora of central Russia: Atlas-determinant / Kiseleva K.V., Mayorov S.R., Novikov V.S. Ed. prof. V. S. Novikova. - M.: ZAO “Fiton+”, 2010. - P. 516

Common names: wormwood, burnt, emshan, Chernobyl grass, bitter herb, forget-me-nots, helminth, widow's grass and others.

Latin name Artemisia absinthium L.

Aster families

Genus Artemisia - Wormwood

Ancient authors mention wormwood as a medicinal plant. According to some authors, its Latin name Artemisia indicates that the plant was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. The medieval expert on medicinal plants Lonicerius wrote that the grass, leaves and flowers help digestion, warm the body and expel poison and bile. Ancient Russian herbalists point to its use in the treatment of wounds and ulcers.

Description

Wormwood Artemisia absinthium L. Herbaceous perennial up to 130 cm tall, from the Aster family (Asteraceae).

The whole plant is grayish-silver with dense pubescence and by this feature it can be distinguished from other types of wormwood. It has a strong specific “wormwood” smell and is extremely bitter in taste.

Root core, branched. The rhizome is vertical.

Stems erect, branched at the top. A few short, sterile shoots and a few flowering shoots develop.

Leaves shoots on long petioles, alternate, middle stem leaves short-petioled, twice (thrice) pinnately dissected, upper ones almost sessile.

Flowers small, tubular, yellow, collected in spherical drooping baskets with a diameter of 2.5-3.5 mm on branches in one-sided brushes, which in turn form a paniculate complex inflorescence.

Fruit- achenes about 1 mm long. It blooms in June-August, the seeds ripen in August-September.

It blooms in July-August, the seeds ripen in September-October.

The plant has a strong specific odor.

Often used instead of wormwood P O Artemisia vulgaris L., which is easily recognized by the absence of silvery-white pubescence on the upper dark green side of the leaves. It is also used in folk medicine, but is not an equivalent substitute.

Spreading

Wormwood- a widespread species. It is found throughout the European part of the country (excluding tundra, northern taiga and semi-desert regions), in the Caucasus, in the southern part of Siberia, reaching east to the Yenisei.

A common plant in young fallow areas, where it sometimes forms almost pure thickets; As a weed, it often grows along roads, in gardens, orchards, in pastures, sometimes in meadows, along the edges of forests, on coastal slopes.

Growing on site

Grows in poor to average soils

Reproduction

Wormwood is propagated by seeds or green cuttings. Seeds remain viable for up to 2 years. Afterwards it begins to decline rapidly. For sowing, it is preferable to choose a sunny area with light and permeable soil. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of moisture in spring. Considering that wormwood seeds are very small, they can be sown thicker and almost superficially in a small area, and then the young plants can be planted in a permanent place.

Care

Care consists of weeding and loosening. After pruning, the plants grow back well. You should not cut them short before winter, as they will not survive the winter well.
In the first year of life, plants overwinter well, but with age their winter hardiness decreases. Therefore, once every 2-3 years it is necessary to renew the plantings.
Advice. The plant has a beautiful silver color and will look great with other plants in a mixborder, against the background of a house, or along a path.

P. bitter Artemisia absinthium L.

Medicinal raw materials

The flowering tops along with the flowers are collected as medicinal raw materials.

The grass is harvested during the flowering period of the plant (June-August), cutting off the leafy tops 20-25 cm long without rough parts of the stem with pruning shears or a knife. If the collection is late, the grass turns dark gray when dried, and the baskets turn brown and crumble. The collected raw materials are laid out for drying as quickly as possible.

Delays in harvesting lead to a decrease in the medicinal value of wormwood.

Dry wormwood in attics, under awnings or in the shade, laying it out in a 3-5 cm layer on paper or fabric and turning it over periodically.
Do not dry wormwood in a hot dryer or oven. At the same time, the essential oil evaporates greatly.

The shelf life of raw materials is 2 years.

To prevent the raw materials from darkening, the plants are loosely placed in baskets and quickly dried in the attic or under a canopy, laid out in a layer of 3-5 cm. Dry stems should break. In good weather, wormwood dries out in 5-7 days. Store raw materials in tight bags or wooden containers for 2 years.

Chemical composition

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