Sweet Wormwood
An annual herb that is used for the production of
artemisin, a medicine against malaria.
Sweet wormwood can be found everywere
in South Europ and Asia.
Sweet Wormwood and artemisin
The upper parts of dried Sweet Wormwood contain
about 0.5% artemisinine. By using an ether, the
artemisinin can be extracted.
artemisin and malaria
Artemisin kills the malaria causes parasites.
So that is differents from most of the
other malaria treatements that only
slows the reproduction of the parasites.
Sweet Wormwood history
Sweet Woprmwood is already knowm since 3000 B.C.
as an herb used in traditional Chinese medicin.
Sweet Wormwood was used for treating diseases
with fever. In 1971 artemesin was identified
the farmacological active substance and in 1972
artemisin was isolated and purified.
another way to produce artemisinin
It is possible to produce artemisin by using yields
to produce the substance. This can be done by isolation
the genes that are used by Sweet Wormwood that
produce the artemisin. It is not that far yet.
If artemisinin could be produced by a yield then
crop Sweet Wormwood could be skipped for that purpose.
A disseration by Anna-Margareta Ryden
discribes this possibility.
Sweet Wormwood world production
Uganda and Vietnam produce large amounts of
Sweet Wormwood for the production of artemisin.
Brazil and China are another important
artemisin producers.
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