Artemisia absinthium, a very important species in the history of medicine, is a plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. It was used in European allopathic as well as homeopathic therapies. In modern times, A. absinthium has been the subject of many studies on the chemistry of the raw materials derived from it—the herb and the essential oil—as well as many studies on the biological activity of the extracts. Numerous studies have found that the main substances leading to the biological activity of the herb are the bitter sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids, other bitterness-imparting compounds, azoenes, phenolic acids, tannins, and lignans. Following this, studies on bioactive extracts and/or individual isolated compounds and/or essential oils of A. absinthium have drawn attention to the mechanisms of action of these raw materials in known classical applications.

In traditional Asian and European medicine, A. absinthium is used as an effective agent for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders as well as helminthiasis, fever, insomnia, difficult-to-heal wounds, anemia, and bladder disorders. It is scientifically proven that A. absinthium provides evidence of many very valuable and new directions of biological activity, such as antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, analgesic, neuroprotective, neurotrophic, pro-cognitive, antidepressant, antiprotozoal, antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, and cell membrane stabilizing effects. It is used as a source for cosmetic plants. It is also used as a spice plant and as a valuable additive in the alcohol industry, for example, as a basis for the production of the alcoholic beverage absinthe.

Currently, numerous studies on A. absinthium confirm the medieval European description of A. absinthium as: “the most important master against all fatigue”.

Szopa, A., Pajor, J., Klin, P., Rzepiela, A., Elansary, H. O., Al-Mana, F. A., … & Ekiert, H. (2020). Artemisia absinthium L.—Importance in the history of medicine, the latest advances in phytochemistry and therapeutical, cosmetological and culinary uses. Plants, 9(9), 1063. [Link]