Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit. - Asteraceae - 茵陳 yīn chén (chin.), redstem wormwood, **Besen-Beifuss**

"Biennial or perennial, basally woody herb with solitary or several, branched in upper part, 40-80 (-90) cm tall...  Considered as a fodder for goats and a cure for pain in the ear. The smoke of twigs is considered good for burns and their infusion is given as a depurative." \\
[[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200023326]]

The plant is native from temperate China to Turkey and the Balkan peninsula, in the north to Poland. \\
[Artemisia scoparia Waldst.&Kit. - neu für Niedersachsen]  {{:artemisia_scoparia.pdf}}

"Intravenous administration of a hydro-methanolic extract of Artemisia scoparia (3-30 mg/kg) produced hypotensive and bradycardiac effects. These effects remained unaltered in atropine treated animals and the presence of the extract did not modify the vasoconstrictor response of norepinephrine, indicating that cardiovascular effects of the plant extract are not mediated through activation of muscarinic receptors or adrenoceptor blockade. In the in vitro studies, it suppressed the spontaneous movements of rabbit jejunum in a concentration-dependent (0.1-1 mg/mL) manner. The plant extract inhibited K+-induced tonic contraction in a manner similar to that of verapamil. Exposure of tissue to Ca++-free Kreb's solution abolished the spontaneous movements which were restored on addition of Ca++. In tissue pretreated with plant extract or verapamil, addition of Ca++ (50 μM) failed to restore spontaneous contractions. These data indicate that Artemisia scoparia contains Ca++ channel blocker-like constituent(s) which may explain the hypotensive effect observed in vivo and the traditional use of the plant as a spasmolytic." \\
[Ca++ channel blocking activity of Artemisia scoparia extract., Gilani, A. H., Janbaz, K. H., Lateef, A., Zaman, M., Phytotherapy Research, Vol.8(3), 1994, 161-165]

"[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoparone|Scoparone (6,7-dimethoxycoumarin)]] has been purified from the hypolipidaemic Chinese herb Artemisia scoparia and shown to reduce the proliferative responses of human peripheral mononuclear cells, to relax smooth muscle, to reduce total cholesterol and triglycerides and to retard the characteristic pathomorphological changes in hypercholesterolaemic diabetic rabbits. Various properties of scoparone were suggested to account for these findings, including ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species, inhibition of tyrosine kinases and potentiation of prostaglandin generation." \\
[Pharmacological and biochemical actions of simple coumarins: Natural products with therapeutic potential. J.R.S. Hoult, Miguel Payá. General Pharmacology: The Vascular System Volume 27, Issue 4, June 1996, Pages 713–722]

"The essential oil of A. scoparia was rich in camphor (11.0 %), 1,8-cineole (21.5 %), and β-caryophyllene (6.8 %) as the major compounds..." \\
[Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Artemisia scoparia and A. capillaris., Cha, J. D., Jeong, M. R., Jeong, S. I., Moon, S. E., Kim, J. Y., Kil, B. S., & Song, Y. H., Planta medica, Vol.71(2), 2005, 186-190]

"Fresh aerial parts of Artemisia spicigera C. Koch and A. scoparia Waldst. et Kit. were subjected to headspace-SPME (HS-SPME) and the same plants were hydrodistilled (HD) after drying to obtain the profiles of volatiles. Headspace volatiles were analysed by GC-MS, whereas the essential oils were analysed by both GC and GC-MS. Camphor (37.5% and 43.9%) was found as the main constituent in both oils and in SPME samples of A. spicigera. However, in the oil sample of A. scoparia, capillene (1-phenylhexa-2,4-diyne) (53.1%) was found as the main constituent, while β-pinene (20.8%), β-caryophyllene (16.4%), (Z)-β-ocimene (16.4%), myrcene (12.8%), and limonene (11.0 %) were the main components in the headspace-SPME, respectively." \\
[Headspace‐SPME and hydrodistillation of two fragrant Artemisia sp., Demirci, B., Demirci, F., Başer, K., Flavour and fragrance journal, Vol.20(4), 2005, 395-398]

The dried young stems with leaves (collected in spring) of Artemisia scoparia or Artemisia capillaris are used as the Traditional Chinese Drug //Artemisia scoparia herba// (Haariges Beifußkraut DAB15, yinchen 茵陈; autumn-collected: yinchenhao 茵陈蒿) and standardised to chlorogenic acid (min. 0.2% DAB, 0.5% PhPRC 2010). Used to treat constipation, dark or absent urine, icterus as well as acute and chronic hepatitis, febrile infections and chills. \\
[Deutsches Arzneibuch, Ausgabe 2015] \\
[Chinesische Heilpflanzen aus bayerischem Anbau, LfL-Information, Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft, 2014] [[http://www.lfl.bayern.de/mam/cms07/publikationen/daten/merkblaetter/lfl_merkblatt_chinesische_heilpflanzen.pdf]]

{{artemisia_scoparia.jpg?600}} \\
Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kitam. - Waldstein, F. de Paula Adam von, Kitaibel, P., Descriptiones et icones plantarum rariorum Hungariae, vol. 1: t. 65 (1800-1812) [[http://plantgenera.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=231592]]