Common names: Qinghao, Sweet wormwood
Botanical name: Artemisia annua
© Martin Wall
Parts used and where grown
This inconspicuous herb originated in Europe and Asia and has since spread to North
America. It is now a common weed around the world. The above ground parts of the plant are
used medicinally.
Sweet Annie has been used
in connection with the following conditions (refer to the individual
health concern for complete information):
Historical or traditional use (may
or may not be supported by scientific studies)
Ancient Chinese medical texts dating from around 150 B.C. suggest the use of sweet Annie
for people with hemorrhoids.1 Other
writings from 340 A.D. are the first known to mention sweet Annie as a treatment for people
with fevers.2 It has been used ever since for a variety of infections in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Active constituents
Artemisinin, called qinghaosu in China where it was first discovered, is thought to account
for the antimalarial activity of the plant.3 4 This compound is a
sesquiterpene lactone and is believed to cause damage to the organisms that cause malaria
inside the red blood cells they infect. Preliminary and double-blind trials, have shown that
injections or oral use of artemisinin or similar compounds rapidly and effectively cure people
with malaria.5 A human trial has also found that artemisinin reduced mortality due
to malaria by 50% compared with treatment with a standard quinoline anti-malarial
drug.6 Artemisinin-based drugs have not been studied for prevention of malaria.
Test tube studies suggest artemisinin can kill other parasites and bacteria,7 possibly
supporting the traditional notion of using it for parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal
tract.
How much is usually taken?
Artemisinin-based drugs are not readily available in the United States or Europe and are
still considered experimental. Sweet Annie cannot be substituted for artemisinin as a drug and
cannot be used to treat people with malaria, a potentially lethal disease requiring immediate
treatment. Traditionally, 3 grams of the powdered herb was taken each day.8
Are there any side effects or interactions?
No serious adverse effects have been seen in clinical trials with artemisinin.9
The use of the whole herb as well as artemisinin may cause upset stomach, loose stools,
abdominal pain, and occasional fever.
At the time of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions
with sweet Annie.
References:1. Foster S, Yue CX. Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the
West. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1992, 322.
2. Foster S, Yue CX. Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the
West. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1992, 322.
3. Hien TT, White NJ. Qinghaosu. Lancet 1993;341:603–8
[review].
4. Tang W, Eisenbrand G. Chinese Drugs of Plant Origin. Berlin:
Springer-Verlag, 1992, 160–74.
5. Hien TT, White NJ. Qinghaosu. Lancet 1993;341:603–8
[review].
6. Hien TT, White NJ. Qinghaosu. Lancet 1993;341:603–8
[review].
7. Bone K, Morgan M. Clinical Applications of Ayurvedic and Chinese
Herbs: Monographs for the Western Herbal Practitioner. Warwick, Australia: Phytotherapy
Press, 1992, 7–12.
8. Foster S, Yue CX. Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the
West. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1992, 322.
9. Hien TT, White NJ. Qinghaosu. Lancet 1993;341:603–8
[review].