INDIAN WORMWOOD 



ARTEMISIA 

 ABSINTHIUM 

 Wormwood 



> \vers were granted to the local Governments, subject to the 

 l , .1 ilu- Covernor- General in Council. Special restrictions are placed upon 



in uhiti- ar.-vnir. Orpiment, besides being a PIGMENT and a DYE, Pigment and 

 . -,M-ntial ingredient in the manufacture of shellac, lao toys, Afridi wax- D y e - 



'/. Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 1833, 99, 156, 173; Watt, 

 \,-t tit Delhi, 1903, 'J11, 21-2, 231; Hooper, Kept. Labor. Ind. Mtu., 

 I, HO.] 



D.E.P., 

 L, 323 8. 

 Wonn- 



OIL 



ARTEMISIA, Linn. ; FL Br. Ind., iil, 321-30; COMPOSITE. 

 A. absinthium, Lin,,. . Heuz6, Lea PL Indtiat., 1895, iv., 343-9. TheAbsinthe, 

 \\ MIIO\VI> l, <ifnanthin t vilayati-afaantin. An aromatic herb met with in Kashmir 

 itud>n of 5,000 to 7,000 feet ; distributed to North Asia, Afghanistan, and 

 ..nl to the Atlantic. 



This wormwood yields by distillation a dark green or yellow OIL having a 

 odour of the plant and an acrid taste. In large doses it is a violent narcotic 

 M In MEDICINE the whole herb is considered an aromatic tonic and Medicine. 

 iiiitli.-lmiiiiK , l>ut in Europe is now relegated to the position of a domestic 

 iin-ili. -in'-. A liqueur consisting of an alcoholic solution of oil of wormwood with 

 ig ingredients forms the Absinthe so largely consumed in France. Foster 

 Factories Ind., 1618-21, 338) alludes to "wormwood wine" among the 

 articles provided for the Company's ships. 



A. marltlma, Linn. ; Pharmacog. Ind., ii., 288. Wormseed, Santonin, shih, Santonin. 



nndri-owa (or kirmdni ova), etc. A very variable plant found in the 

 ern Himalaya from Kashmir to Kumaon, altitude 7,000 to 9,000 feet, and 

 idant in Western Tibet on salt-plains between 9,000 and 14,000 feet. The 

 wormseed of European commerce comes from Persia, Asia Minor, etc., 

 whilst the Barbary wormseed comes from Palestine and Arabia. 



The flower-heads are largely used for their anthelmintic, deobstruent, and Medicine. 

 stomachic-tonic qualities. Santonin is now well known to the Natives of India 

 and is largely imported from Germany, but according to Dr. von Schroeder it is 

 not poisonous to ascarides as was formerly thought, but merely drives them into 

 the large intestine whence they can be removed. Wormseed is brought from 

 Russia and also from Afghanistan and Persia, its value being about Rs. 2 to 

 3 per Surat maund (37 Ib.) ; but much of the prepared santonin sold in the 

 bazars is adulterated to the extent of three-fourths with gum, boracic acid, etc. 

 Details of tho trade are not available. Duthie observes that in the Himalaya 

 ponies are fed upon this plant with relish, and he adds that " other species Fodder. 

 of .(!/ HI iM<<f are mentioned as affording good fodder for sheep on the Panjab 

 Himalaya." The Kew Bulletin (June 1893, 127), commenting on this, observes 

 that in localities where hardly any other vegetation exists, the use of the worm- 

 seed as a fodder plant might prove of value. Church reported on a bundle of 

 Cleaves received at Kew from Duthie. The following is his analysis : 

 Percentage composition of Ai-teminin i>-in>,,<, .- 

 Water 

 Oil, resin, wax, etc. 

 Starch, sugar, gum, etc. (by difference) 

 Albuminoids (true) 

 Fibre 

 Ash (includes 2-7 of sand and mica) 

 Church remarks that the plant contains rather less albuminoids, less digestible 

 carbohydrates, and more fibre than the average hay of mixed grasses. It is, 

 however, thrice as rich in albuminoids as the straw of European cereals. The 

 harsh woody texture of the plant and its sickly odour would not commend its 

 use as the chief ingredient in horse-fodder ; but to any animals not deterred by 

 those factors it might prove of considerable value under such special circum- 

 stances as obtain in barren tracts of the Western Himalaya. .1. imn-ijtora 

 is also browsed by sheep and goats. [Cf. List of Himalayan Fodder Plants (ex- 

 cluding grasses), D.E.P., iii., 427.] 



A. vulgaris, Linn. ; Indian Wormwood, Flea-bane, ndgdoun, ndgdoni, tataur, Worm- 

 surband, etc. A gregarious shrub found throughout the mountainous district wood, 

 of India and distributed to temperate Europe, Siam, Java, etc. 



One or two of the forms of this species, along with A. AbHinthtuiH, con- 

 stitute the officinal wormwood, but by itself A. ntignris is not an article of 

 commerce. In MEDICINE it is held to have stomachic and tonic properties, and Medicine. 



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