Twenty twenty was a year to remember can’t believe that it’s been roughly twenty months since we experienced the first wave that broke over us as a country with trying to understand what the storm was all about.
It was then that this treasured botanical came to mind for the benefit and wellbeing of humanity.
Our understanding at the time is that the symptoms were showing up as flu-like and this seemed far from the applied use of Artemisia-afra which is a well-known medicinal plant of South Africa, also known as “wilde als.”or commonly known as Wormwood, in fact, we had only used Artemesia for Malaria and deworming support up until the beginning of the outbreak. Naturally, we dived into deeper research in quest of searching out this remarkable botanical that was given to Mother Nature.
God’s word says that Leaves of the trees are for the healing of nations and we came across many research papers that were conducted on our very own continent of Africa.
Surprisingly we found that there are 500 species of Artemisia that are mostly perennial herbs dominating the vast steppe communities of Asia. Asia has the greatest concentration of species, with 150 accessions for China, 174 in the former Soviet Union, about 50 reported for Japan, 35 species of the genus found in Iran, and about 30 in Italy. Artemisia species are frequently utilized for the treatment of different diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and infections by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Artemesia supports upper airway diseases also internally to treat chest infections treat bronchitis and pneumonia.
It is widely used for numerous ailments including colds, coughs, diabetes, heartburn, bronchitis, and asthma 2. These seemed more obvious to us and we were able to draw parallels to our findings.
But what about our country resounded and kept echoing over us.
This led us on a fact-finding mission and we started collaborations with the University of Potchefstroom which became our research and development specialist first stop and then to the amazing hills below the Swartberg mountain range outside the little town of Picket Berg.
We started immediately with sourcing the raw plant material and found a small family-owned nutraceutical factory that had the capacity to start manufacturing our first batch of the whole plant for distribution. We sent this first batch order to the Western part of Africa and immediately started getting the product out to those in dire need of immune support and relief of low energy levels, respiratory challenges.
The testimonies kept coming in and we realized that we were on holy ground. We consider our service to clients as key to the business and have kept this one aim consistent.
Below is the team that came together without funding but had the drive to uncover the trove of miracles trapped in Artemisia.
The team was made up of the Department of Biochemistry, H. N. B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, India
Scientific Consulting, Chemical Engineering, UCTM, Sofia, Bulgaria
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, H. N. B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, India
OU Endocrinology, Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova, Italy
AIROB, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca Oncologica di Base, Padova, Italy
School of Pharmacy, Kumamoto University, Japan
All-Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology, Moscow Region, Russia
Laboratory of Biocontrol and Antimicrobial Resistance, Orel State University named after I.S. Turgenev, Orel, Russia
European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Basel, Switzerland
Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Bam University of Medical SciencesBam, Iran
Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville, AL, USA
Aromatic Plant Research Center, Lehi, UT, USA
Food Safety Research Center (salt), Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Department of Chemistry, Richardson College for the Environmental Science Complex, The University of Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Artemisia annua L. (“sweet wormwood,” “qinghao”) has traditionally been used in China for the treatment of fever and chills. Though originally growing in Asia and Europe, the plant is cultivated in Africa and used as a tea for the treatment of malaria. Artemisinin has been identified as the antimalarial principle of the plant, and artemisinin derivatives are currently established as antimalarial drugs with activity toward otherwise drug-resistant Plasmodium infections. Most importantly, however, A. annua is now known worldwide for its antimalarial properties. Other Artemisia species have also been used for the treatment of fevers and malaria. Artemisia absinthium and A. abrotanum were used to treat malaria in Europe, while A. afra in Africa.
The whole flowering plant is known to be anthelminthic, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, stimulant, tonic, and stomachic. The tincture was formally used to treat nervous diseases and crushed plants in liniments. Artemisia annua tea infusion has been used for the treatment of malaria in African countries. As mentioned above, A. annua contains artemisinin, which provides a structural chemical base for combinatorial treatment therapy for worldwide antimalarial programs. Research studies also report that artemisinin is effective for killing human breast cancer cells. Therefore, isolation and characterization of artemisinin have increased the interest in A. annua worldwide. Several ethnobotanical uses in Africa claim that the A. annua tea is also effective against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Recently, research investigations are more focused to evaluate its antiviral potential against HIV, as it is a highly emerging disease throughout the world.
Also exhibiting anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, insecticidal, antimalarial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities. These diverse biological activities are manifested by different compounds whose main components are essential oils and polyphenols including upper airway diseases and internally to treat chest infections treat bronchitis and pneumonia.
It is also noted that the Egyptians use this as a vermifuge in addition to its other medical and veterinary uses. Herbal tea from this species has been used as analgesic, antibacterial, antispasmodic, and haemostatic agents. During an ethnopharmacological survey carried out among the Bedouins of the Negev Desert, it was found that A. herba-alba relieved stomach disorders. This plant is also suggested to be important as a fodder for sheep and for livestock in the plateau regions of Algeria where it grows abundantly.
With all the loaded benefits that artemisia gives us, we feel comfortable supporting humanity while we are discovering increasing effects of Malaria are on the uptrend especially when engaging with companies on the continent this seems to be standing out coupled with the increased psychological challenges that we commonly come across in Mind health as a result of fear gripping our society.
The conclusion of the study amongst these pioneers was that Artemisia species are widely used in traditional medicine all over the world with different and well-known therapeutic applications.
Artemisia also holds great potential for human health and its therapeutic effects should be more strictly and intensively analyzed.
As most studies we have come across the biggest drawback for finalized clinical trials is that there are no funding vehicles to support such findings.
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Fresh Soil Products continues to embark on the continuation of research and development and together with our specialized partner’s we are pioneering the frontline of this botanical that we have been entrusted with.
We invite our customers and friends to join us as we take the ground that we have been called to take and share in the spoils that God has given us as our inheritance.
