The efficacy and function of wormwood fruit

Artemisia annua is mainly distributed in eastern Asia, such as North Korea, Japan, and Mongolia. It is distributed in Northeast China, North China, East China, South China, Northwest China, Shaanxi Province and Gansu Province in my country. It has strong adaptability and grows widely in roadsides, fields and lawns. It grows well in sunny places with good drainage, but it grows best in moist and fertile soil.

The efficacy and function of wormwood

1. Nutritional components of Artemisia argyi

Modern pharmacology has found that the volatile oil of wormwood leaves contains many components, including 1.8-cineole (accounting for more than 50%), as well as α-thuja ketone, sesquiterpene alcohols and esters. The dried leaves contain 10.13% minerals, 2.59% fat, 25.85% protein, as well as vitamins A, B1, B2, C and so on. For moxibustion, generally speaking, the older the mugwort leaves are, the better. Hence, there is a saying that “a seven-year illness requires three years of treatment with mugwort” (Mencius).

The effects of Artemisia argyi and Poria cocos are bitter, pungent and warm, and they enter the spleen, liver and kidneys. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: Mugwort leaves are used as medicine, which are warm in nature, slightly bitter in taste, non-toxic, purely yang in nature, and can pass through the twelve meridians. They have the functions of restoring yang, regulating blood and qi, expelling cold and dampness, and promoting blood circulation and nourishing the fetus. They are also commonly seen in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Therefore, it is also called "medicinal herb". Most of the "herbal baths" that are popular in Taiwan, China, use mugwort.

(II) The efficacy of mugwort

Artemisia annua is bitter, dry and pungent in nature. It can regulate blood and qi, warm the meridians, expel dampness and cold, and relieve cold pain. It is an important medicine for gynecology. It is used to treat cold pain in the abdomen, menstrual disorders due to cold, infertility due to cold uterus, etc., such as Ai Fu Nuan Gong Pills. Stir-fried charcoal can invigorate blood circulation and can be used to treat menorrhagia due to yin deficiency and internal heat, metrorrhagia, leukorrhea, and fetal bleeding during pregnancy, such as Jiao Ai Decoction. This product can be pounded into moxa patches and moxa sticks. External moxibustion can dispel cold, relieve pain, and warm the blood. The decoction can be used for external washing to treat eczema, scabies, and tinea, and to remove dampness and relieve itching.

Regarding the characteristics of mugwort leaves, "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Mugwort leaves can cure all diseases." "Compendium of Materia Medica Congxin" says: "Mugwort leaves are bitter and pungent, warm when raw, hot when cooked, and purely yang in nature. They can restore the lost yang, connect the twelve meridians, run through the three yin meridians, regulate blood and qi, expel dampness and cold, warm the uterus... Using it for moxibustion can penetrate all meridians and cure all diseases." This shows that using mugwort leaves as the raw material for moxibustion has the effects of relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation, removing yin, reducing swelling and knots, and restoring yang and rescuing from adverse conditions.

(III) The role of mugwort

The use of wormwood leaves to prevent plague has a history of thousands of years. Chinese herbal medicine can be adapted to local conditions, and modern scientific pharmacology research has shown that wormwood leaves are a broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral drug. It has inhibitory and destructive effects on many viruses and bacteria, and has a certain preventive effect on respiratory diseases. The fumigation method with mugwort leaves is a simple and easy method of epidemic prevention.