Qing1 Hao1 "Blue-green high herb" Sweet Wormwood Sweet Annie Artemesia annua L
Properties: bitter cold
Channels: Liver Kidney Gallbladder
Functions:Clears Yin Deficient heat for Malaria, menopause, fever that is
worse as night than in day, HIV/AIDS.
Clears Heat and Cools Blood for low-grade chronic fever, no sweating, hot at night,
heat sensation in palms, feet, and sternum (5 center heat).
Dosage in decoction: 3-10g; severe for HIV/AIDS 15g
Research:
The Yin of the female body declines with cyclic blood loss over
her lifetime. This process, otherwise known as menopause, is concurrent with
hot feeling in the palms, hands and feet, afternoon headaches, dry mouth,
trouble falling asleep. From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, this is a
state of Yin Deficient heat. Wormwood (Qing Hao) is an herb that has been
traditionally used to treat this type of condition, as well as Malaria fevers.
Scientists at the University of Washington Henry Lai and Narendra Singh found
biomedical evidence, published in the journal Life Sciences to back up the
association already common knowledge among Chinese herbalists; that Wormwood
can treat both Menopause, a correlate of Breast Cancer, and Malaria. According to Dr. Li Jin, OMD., Qing Hao is the number
one herb to treat both Yin Deficient Heat and Malaria. Lai and Singh have
shown that Artemisin, a key
chemical in Wormwwood has the same method of action in 1) inhibiting breast cancer
cell growth in the presence of iron and 2) inhibiting Malaria parasites which
intrinsically have high iron concentrations.
Distribution: Southeast Europe to China, Japan, Siberia, Korea, India & West Asia
Grows as a weed in North America. Commonly escapes from gardens.
Cultivation: grows in temperate climates, in variety of soils. Prefers full sun.
Grow from seed.
Harvest: Pick the whole plant prior to flowering in late summer to early autumn. Clean and use fresh or dry in sun.
Alternate species: Artemisia annua macrocephala, A. apiacea, A. capillaris, and A. scoparia.
References:
1. Lecture and notes from Pharmacopoeia I 1999. Dr. Li Jin LAc,
OMD of the Su & Jin Family Acupuncture and Herb Clinic. p. 92.
2.Ancient Chinese folk remedy may hold key to non-toxic cancer treatment University of
Washington. Nov. 26, 2001
3. Herbal Emmissaries bringing Chinese Herbs to the West. Steven Foster and
Yue ChongXi. 1992. Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont. pp. 322-327.
Chinese Pharmacopoeia Index