Artemisia cina O.Berg - syn.Seriphidium cinum (O. Berg) Poljakov - Asteraceae \\
Levant wormseed, Levant wormwood, santonica, **Zitwer**, Wurmsamen

Perennial herb, up to 60cm high, native to Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China-Xinjiang). 

The dried flower heads (collected before full flowering, Flores Cinae) contain the antihelminthic santonin (2.0-3.5%) and volatile oil (2-3%, with 1,8-cineole as main component). It was formerly used together with laxatives to treat roundworms but its therapeutic index is very low.\\
[Pharmakognosie: Biogene Arzneimittel. Teil 1, Teuscher, E., Akademie-Verlag Berlin, 1978, 130-131]

{{:santonin.jpg|santonin}}  santonin

"Even were it not for the fact that santonin is among the most toxic of herbal anthelminthic drugs, deworming using santonin is complicated in comparison to more modern anthelminthics." \\
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santonin]]

"The above-ground parts of levant wormwood contains, besides santonin, an essential oil (1.5-3%) and  betaine, choline, tannins, and pigments. The chemical composition of the essential oil from levant wormwood (EOLW) has been first studied as long ago as 1841. In 1884 (Wallace, Brass, Hell, and Stucke) it was established that the main component in this oil is 1,8-cineole. In addition, EOLW contains significant amounts of terpineol, p-cymene, α- and β-thujones, borneol, α-terpinene, α- and β-pinenes, artemisia ketone..." \\ 
[Biological activity of 1, 8-cineole from levant wormwood., Asanova, Z.K., Suleimenov, E.M., Atazhanova, G.A., Dembitskii, A.D., Pak, R.N., Dar, A., Adekenov, S.M., Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal, Vol.37(1), 2003, 28-30] \\
[[http://www.enu.kz/repository/repository2013/eurasian_national_university_document%20%28115%29.pdf]]

{{:artemisia_cina.jpg?500}} \\
Köhler,F.E., Medizinal Pflanzen, vol.1, t.48 (1887) [W.Müller] \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=940393]]