Sweet wormwood
Artemisia annua · 青蒿
Herbs & Roots. Chinese Medicine and African.
Also called Qing hao, Annual wormwood, Sweet annie, Chinese wormwood
Pinyin: Qīng hāo
Not proven against malariaA leafy herb that gave scientists artemisinin, a core malaria drug, but the plant tea itself is not proven against malaria.
Did you know? Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for finding artemisinin in this plant, after a clue from a 4th-century text that said to soak the herb in cold water rather than boil it.
What it may help, and how strong the proof is
- Fever. Used in tradition for lingering low-grade heat. Few human studies exist.Traditional proof
- Infections. Lab studies show some antiviral activity. Human proof is lacking.Traditional proof
- Parasites & worms. Tea tested in a human malaria trial cleared far fewer patients than standard medicine. WHO advises against using it for malaria.Not supported
Parts of the body
Traditional use
Traditional Chinese Medicine has used sweet wormwood for low, lingering heat, often worse at night, and for fevers. In parts of Africa, the leaves are brewed as tea for malaria, a use that good trials do not support.
How it is classified
- Herbal actions
- Anti-parasite, Antiviral, Antimicrobial. Energy: cooling.
- Chinese medicine
- 青蒿 Clear heat. Nature: cold. Flavour: bitter, pungent. Enters the Liver and Gallbladder channels.
How people take it
Tea uses a few grams of dried leaves steeped in hot water. Malaria medicines based on artemisinin are given under medical care, not as plant tea. The WHO does not recommend tea for malaria.
Tea, capsule and tincture.
Where to get it
An annual plant native to Asia that now grows in many warm regions, including parts of Africa. Dried leaves are sold as tea, and extracts are sold as capsules. Artemisinin drugs are made from plant-derived artemisinin or by chemical processes.
Be careful
Side effects of the tea are not well studied. Pregnancy and breastfeeding data are lacking. Never use the tea in place of proven malaria medicine.
Avoid if: pregnancy; breastfeeding.
Mixing with other things
- Works well together
Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang (Artemisia and Turtle Shell Decoction) pairs them for long-lasting heat and fevers that come at night.
- Works well together
Also in Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang, where rehmannia cools heat and nourishes body fluids.
- Worth knowingBirth control (the pill and other hormonal birth control)
Drug labels for artemisinin malaria medicines warn they may lower the effect of hormone birth control. The plant tea has not been tested this way.
The honest take
Sweet wormwood is famous because its chemical artemisinin became a core malaria drug. The plant tea, however, cleared fewer patients than standard medicine in a human trial, and the WHO advises against using it for malaria. Its uses for heat and fever rest mostly on tradition and lab work.