Artemisia growth

Bode (20), working on the exudation of absinthin frcm Artemisia absinthium, showed that the growth of neighboring plants such as Foeniculun vulgare and others was influenced by these toxins and so, for the first time, produced exact evidence that such metabolic products can in nature influence the development of nearby plants. 

Artemisia stelleriana Bess., or dusty miller sagewort, beach wormwood old woman, or pai hao, fan, lu (Chinese), is a shrub that grows to 1.20 m in Japan, Korea, China, and Siberia. The whole plant is covered with a glaucous indumentum. The leaves are compound, and the lobes are rounded. The flowers are small, yellowish, and packed in globose capitula (Fig. 53). The medicinal values of Artemisia stelleriana Bess, were mentioned by Su Sung (11th century). It has been used internally for food, as carminative, to promote the growth of hair, and to stimulate mental faculties, and externally it provides a remedy for ulcers. 

Wang JW, Tan RX. (2002) Artemisinin production in Artemisia annua hair root cultures with improved growth by altering the nitrogen source in the medium. Biotechnol Lett 24 1153-1156. 

Fig. 2. Artemisia douglasiana extract and its active chemical constituent, dehydroleucodine, inhibited the growth of seven HP strains in vitro with MICs between 1 and 8 pglmL.

Sesquiterpenes such as 8-caryophyllene, bisabolene and chamazulene found in Artemisia absenturium were shown to possess growth-inhibiting activity (92). Other artemisia species (A. psilastachya and A. acanticarpa) produce several sesquiterpenes, some of which may also be growth inhibitors (93, 94). 

Artemisinin (23), isolated from a Chinese medicinal plant, annual wormwood Artemisia annua L.), is a unique sesquiterpene lactone bearing an endoperoxide moiety. This compound displays a strong antimalarial activity and inhibits seed germination and plant growth.11... 

Bagchi, G. D. Haider, F. Dwivedi, P. D. Singh, A. Naqvi, A. A. Essential oil constituents of Artemisia annua during different growth periods at monsoon... 

Among the coumarins isolated from species of Artemisia (Asteraceae), esculetin (6,7-dihydroxycoumarin) and its dimethyl-ether scoparone were known to be antiproliferative on vascular smooth muscle cells. This activity was further found in some very simple mono-substituted coumarins, which were even more potent than esculetin, although less effective. In an attempt to verify its mechanism of action, esculetin was tested for interactions with PTK and PKC. The induction of membrane PTK activity by either foetal calf serum or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) was moderately reduced by esculetin, whereas no effect was observed against PKC [56]. 

Berberis vulgaris, and Hydrastis canadensis, is also active against Staphylococcus aureus, in vitro. Berberine inhibited the growth of S. aureus, with an MIC of 25.0 ig/ml [40], Sub-inhibitory concentrations of berberine were potentiated by the flavones chrysosplenol-D and chrysoplenetin. Fig. 5, from Artemisia annua. This potentiation appears to be due to the inhibition of an S. aureus multidmg resistance (MDR) pump [41]. 

More recently, Cha et al. [82] investigated the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Artemisia scoparia and Artemisia capillaris Thunb. The essential oil from Artemisia scoparia was rich in camphor. Fig. (1), 1,8-cineole, Fig. (2) and (3-caryophyllene. Fig. (3) as the major compounds, whereas Artemisia capillaris oil was rich in 3-pinene. Fig. (6), P-caryophyllene, Fig. (3) and capillene. The essential oils and some of their major compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity against 15 different genera of oral bacteria. The essential oils exhibited considerable inhibitory effect against all the oral bacteria tested, while the major components demonstrated various degrees of growth inhibition. 

Bioassay-guided fractionation of an extract of Artemisia annua was conducted in order to assess the possible presence in the plant material of inhibitors of bacterial multidrug resistance pumps [218]. Fractions were tested for Staphylococcus aureus growth inhibition in the presence of a subinhibitory dose of weak antibacterial alkaloid berberine. Active fractions yielded the flavones chrysoplenol D and chrysoplenetin,... 

Franz (22) reported that the yield and composition of the oil of Artemisia dracunculus increased with less frequent water regime. He found that the plants really only needed to be irrigated during critical stages of growth such as shoot formation, secondary shoot formation, flower bud formation and after harvesting. 

Growth of Artemisia Annua in Fields and Controlled Environments... 

Not only animals but also plants are competing in the struggle for the best conditions of life, and they use chemical defense mechanisms, too. Some plants are able to set free germicides directly from the roots. Another mechanism is to exsude from the surface of the leaves such substances which come into the earth by the rain (5). Typical examples are Salvia leucophylla and Artemisia californica. These shrubs suppress the growth of any plants within a radius of 1 meter completely, by excretion of 1.8-cineol and campher these substances... 

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