Wormwood is known for its distinctive aroma and flavor. We can recognize the plant by its shrub-like look, tall gray-green hairy stems, and lobed yellow-green leaves (1). For hundreds of years, all parts of this plant have been used for traditional medicinal practices. It is a well-known herb that helps with various digestive problems including upset stomach, loss of appetite, intestinal spasms, and gall bladder disease as well as to treat fever, liver disease, depression, muscle pain, memory loss, and worm infections (2).
It is one of the most important herbs that has exhibited several pharmacological activities, such as being antimicrobial, insecticidal, antiviral, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular diseases. Aside from this, the herb has also shown broad-spectrum antioxidant and anticancer activities (3).
Results of a study showed that the essential oil from the aerial parts of woodworm prevents the growth of a very broad spectrum of tested fungi. Aside from this, essential oil has been found to possess antioxidant properties (4).
In a separate study, researchers have also found that the oil exhibits antimicrobial activity against various bacterial strains including E. coli and salmonella. Salmonella bacterial infection causes gastrointestinal infections with symptoms including vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain (5,6).
In a study designed to investigate the antibacterial properties of wormwood, against surgical wounds infected by Staphylococcus aureus in a rat model, results showed that topical application of wormwood extract on infected wound sites produced significant antibacterial activity (7).
Caution:
Wormwood contains a compound known as thujone. In large amounts, thujone can cause damage to the nervous system, resulting in convulsions, and loss of muscle control if enough is involved.
Wormwood tea can be used to reap its benefits. When making tea, it’s best if we use its dried form as it contains a little thujone.
In making a tea, simply steep one teaspoon of dried wormwood in one cup of boiling water for five to 15 minutes. Have this tea unsweetened to have its best effect.
Make sure to use no more than one teaspoon of the leaves as they’re very strong and bitter.
Sources:
- https://www.allthingsnature.org/what-is-wormwood.htm
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-729/wormwood
- https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/6/353/htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15740015
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf060123o
- https://www.medicinenet.com/salmonella_food_poisoning_salmonellosis/article.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3516646/
Disclaimer
The watching, interacting, and participation of any kind with anything on this page does not constitute or initiate a doctor-patient relationship with Dr. Farrah®. None of the statements here have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products of Dr. Farrah® are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information being provided should only be considered for education and entertainment purposes only. If you feel that anything you see or hear may be of value to you on this page or on any other medium of any kind associated with, showing, or quoting anything relating to Dr. Farrah® in any way at any time, you are encouraged to and agree to consult with a licensed healthcare professional in your area to discuss it. If you feel that you’re having a healthcare emergency, seek medical attention immediately. The views expressed here are simply either the views and opinions of Dr. Farrah® or others appearing and are protected under the first amendment.
Dr. Farrah® is a highly experienced Licensed Medical Doctor certified in evidence-based clinical nutrition, not some enthusiast, formulator, or medium promoting the wild and unrestrained use of nutrition products for health issues without clinical experience and scientific evidence of therapeutic benefit. Dr. Farrah® has personally and keenly studied everything she recommends, and more importantly, she’s closely observed the reactions and results in a clinical setting countless times over the course of her career involving the treatment of over 150,000 patients.
Dr. Farrah® promotes evidence-based natural approaches to health, which means integrating her individual scientific and clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. By individual clinical expertise, I refer to the proficiency and judgment that individual clinicians acquire through clinical experience and clinical practice.
Dr. Farrah® does not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of any multimedia content provided. Dr. Farrah® does not warrant the performance, effectiveness, or applicability of any sites listed, linked, or referenced to, in, or by any multimedia content.
To be clear, the multimedia content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen in any website, video, image, or media of any kind.
Dr. Farrah® hereby disclaims any and all liability to any party for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental, or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of the content, which is provided as is, and without warranties.
