Artemisia is a plant from the daisy family found in parts of Asia and the Middle East. It contains the compound artemisinin, which is used to treat malaria. Artemisinin and its derivatives are the most effective drugs currently available for treating drug-resistant malaria. The plant also contains other compounds like santonin which are used as anthelmintics to treat parasitic worm infections. Solvent extraction, especially using propylene glycol methyl ether, is commonly used to separate artemisinin from the Artemisia annua plant for medicinal use.

1. Artemisia
DR.PRASANTH B
Associate Professor
Nirmala College of Pharmacy,
Muvattupuzha

2. Artemisia
• Synonym: Mugwort, wormwood, sagebrush is a plant
of the daisy , Santonica and Worm seeds.
• Biological Source
• Artemisia consists of unexpanded flower-head
obtained from the plant Artemisia annua, Artemisia
apiacea, Artemisia lancea, Artemisia brevifolia ,
Artemisia maritima , Family: Asteraceae.
• Geographical Source:
• Artemisia plant is found in the Kurran valley regions of
Pakistan, Turkey, and widespread from Kashmir to
Kumaon in Himalayas, and in West Tibet. The plant is
also cultivated in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh,
and Haryana.

3. • Macroscopic Features
• 1) Colour: Flowers are yellow in colour, while
other parts are whitish-grey.
• 2) Odour: Aromatic and sweet.
• 3) Taste: Bitter and camphoraceous. It
contains yellowish or brownish, oval -shaped
flower -heads.
• The flowers are fertile in presence of tubular
corolla and short cylindrical tube and narrow
limb. It lacks calyx.

4. • Constituents:
• The major active constituent of Artemisia annua, Artemisia apiacea,
and Artemisia lancea is
• Sesquiterpene with an internal peroxide linkage Artemisinin.
• (The aerial parts of Artemisia annua contain 0.01-0.8 % of
artemisinin per dry weight).
• Derivatives of this compound include arteether, artemether,
artemotil, artenimol, artesunate, and dihydroartemisinin, which,
along with artemisin, are currently being used to treat drug-
resistant and non-drug resistant malaria.
• Other constituents of Artemisia annua include
Santonin(Sesquiterpene lactone) ,deoxyartemisinin, artemisinic
acid, arteannuin-B, stigmasterol, friedelin, friedelan-3 beta-ol,
artemetin, and quercetagetin 6,7,3',4'-tetramethyl ether.
• The essential oil of Artemisia annua aerial parts contains 44%
camphor, 16% germacrene D, 11% trans-pinocarveol, 9% beta-
selinene, 9% beta-caryophyllene, and 3% artemisia ketone.

6. • Chemical Test
• 1gm of finely powdered drug is mixed with
10ml alcohol and filtered. Sodium hydroxide is
added to the filtrate and the mixture is
heated. The colour of liquid appears red.
• Substitutes
• The plant can be substituted by a tall aromatic
shrub of Artemisia vulgaris Linn. (belonging to
family Compositae) distributed in all
mountainous regions of India

7. • Uses
• Artemisia annua extracts have antimalarial properties.
• A combination of Artemisia annua and chloroquine was
more effective in fever subsidence and disappearance of
malarial symptoms.
• Qinghaosu (QHS), also known as artemisinin and
arteannuin, is a novel type of sesquiterpene with a
peroxide linkage isolated from the Chinese herb Artemisia
annua L.
• Since its discovery as an antimalarial with low toxicity,
hundreds of derivatives have been synthesized; artesunate
(ATS), artemether (ATM), and dihydroartemisinin (DHQHS)
were found to be more active than QHS itself.
• Santonin is a strong anthelmintic acting against roundworm
infections.

8. Extraction of Artemisinin
• Solvent extraction is the most widely used
method to separate artemisinin from the Chinese
medicinal herb Artemisia annua .
• A series of monoether-based solvents were
investigated to extract artemisinin, and
propylene glycol methyl ether (PGME) was found
to be the most appropriate one for this
extraction.
• Ultrasonic irradiation was demonstrated to be
able to assist artemisinin extraction.