NaturalSociety  May 4 2014

Sweet wormwood, also known as sweet sagewort or Artemisia annua, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. It’s use for cancer treatment throughout the ages is ironic as scientists have struggled to find effective and safe treatments for cancer. Studies on the plant indicate such treatments may have been right under our noses the whole time.

According to researchers with the University of Washington, a compound derived from sweet wormwood could be 1,200 more specific in killing certain cancer cells than conventional cancer treatments. Further, it does this without the side effects so commonly seen in chemotherapy.

Artemisinin is an anti-malarial that is derived from the plant. For their work, the researchers attached a “chemical homing device” to the drug that would allow it to selectively target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.

According to the study abstract: Continue reading →