Armoise bleaches on grass white

The armoise white grass ( Artemisia bleached on grass-alba ) is a steppe Plante kind Artemisia (Armoises) of the family of the Astéracées (or Made up).

Presentation

Known since millenia, the armoise white grass was described by the Greek historian Xénophon, at the beginning of, in the steppes of the Mésopotamie. It was indexed in 1779 by the Spanish Botaniste Ignacio Jordán Claudio of ESA there LED Rio. It is a primarily fodder plant, very appreciated by the Bétail like pasture of winter. It presents an odor characteristic of oil of Thymol and a bitter taste from where its astringent character . ; Vernacular names: Several names are allotted to the armoise white grass; Thyme of the Steppe S, wormwood of the desert. In North Africa and the the Middle East, one commonly calls it shiḥ (الشيح) or shiḥ ẖorasāni (الشيحالخرساني) according to the areas. To the Western Morocco, it bears also the name of ḳaysoūm (القيسوم). The armoise white grass is well-known since the Antiquité, It is quoted in the Bible on several occasions with the name Hebrew la' anah (see Note 1). The English name Wormwood (allotted to all the armoises) referred to its capacity beneficial Vermifuge for the man and the cattle.

Nomenclature and Etymology

Artemisia bleached on grass-alba (ESA.) is the Basionyme of Seriphidium bleached on grass-alba (ESA.) Soják. There exist also synonymous homotypic: Artemisia aragonensis (Lam.) and Artemisia inculta . (see Note 2)
Artemisia is the name of kind of the Armoise S, it comes from that of the Greek goddess of hunting Artémis; bleached on grass-alba means white grass; Seriphidium of the Greek '' Seriphos '', one of the islands Cyclades; aragonensis , of the name Aragon, is relative to that of rivers of the basin of the Èbre (Spain); inculta in general indicates a species which pushes in the incultes.
places

Reference of nomenclature: Syn. Stirp. Aragon.: 117. 1779
taxonomic Code: nt449 - BDNFF - v 3.02 (Tela botanica)

Botanical description

Armoise bleaches on grass white is a herbaceous Plante with woody and ramified stems, from 30 to 50 cm, very broken into leaf with a thick stock. The sheets are small, sessile, pubescent and with silver plated aspect. The flowers are grouped in bunches, with very small flowerheads (3/1,5mm) and ovoid. The Involucre with Bractée S is imbricated, external orbicular and pubescent ones. The floral Réceptacle is naked with 2 to 5 yellowish flowers per flowerhead all Hermaphrodite S.

Habitat

The armoise white grass is largely widespread since the Canary islands and the south-east of the Spain to the steppes of Central Asia (Iran, Turkménistan, Ouzbékistan) and through the North Africa, the Arabia and the the Middle East. In North Africa, this species covers immense territories evaluated with more than ten million hectares. In Tunisia, the armoise white grass is absent from littoral zones north, valley of the Medjerda as well as mounts of the Kroumirie. It becomes on the other hand very common in the center and the south: of Enfida to Tataouine like in the islands Kerkennah and Jerba. However, the species rarefies in the extreme south. Thanks to its very dense system racinaire on the surface, the armoise white grass is able to develop any surface moisture caused by small rains. This species is also able to exploit the moisture ground up to 50 cm of depth and can benefit from the fractures of the crust, to reach the pockets of moisture, in particular in the grounds with encrusting Calcaire. The Floraison of this species generally begins in June but the Fleur S develop primarily at the end of the summer. At the time of the rainy years and in the grounds which are appropriate to him, the armoise white grass presents a strong production of Graine S and a high capacity of Régénération. The Energy value of the armoise white grass, very weak in winter (0,2 to 0,4 UF /kg ms), increases quickly in spring (0,92 UF/kg ms) to decrease again in summer (0,6 UF/kg ms). In autumn, the rains of September cause a new period of growth and the energy value increases again (0,8 UF/kg ms). The plants of the family of the Astéracées, to which the armoise white grass belongs, were the subject of several phytochimic studies by economic interest especially for their essential oils. The identified molecules are sesquiterpenes lactones, the Coumarine S and the hydrocarbons acetylenic.

Terpenes of the armoise white grass

The Terpène S are Polymère S made up of units in C₅ (isopentylpyrophosphate). The Monoterpène S (in C₁₀) are slightly volatile substances which form the essential Huiles. They protect the plants against the parasite S, inhibit the bacterial Croissance and attract the animals pollinating S. the principal monoterpenes identified in Armoise bleaches on grass white are the thujone (monoterpene lactone), the 1,8-cinéol and the Thymol. Alcoholic monoterpenes (yomogi alcohol, santoline alcohol) were highlighted. One also identified Sesquiterpène S (3 units in C₅) and sesquiterpenes Lactone S in several chémotypes of the the Middle East.

The Thujone is probably one of the terpenic components more bioactifs of Armoise. Its name comes from Thuya (Thuja occidentalis) plant from which it was extracted for the first time. One also identified it in other species, like the Absinthe (Artemisia absinthium) and the Armoise Roman (Artemisia pontica). Structurally related to the Menthol, it consists of a cycle in C₆ (Cyclohexane) with in more one grouping exocyclic isopropyl and a grouping lactone. The thujone is a chiral compound present at the natural state in the form of two stéréoisomères: alpha-thujone and beta-thujone.

Flavonoïdes of the armoise white grass

In fact phenolic compounds contribute to the pigmentation of the plant. Very ubiquitaires, some of them play the part of phytoalexines, metabolites synthesized by the plant to fight against various parasitoses. The Flavonoïde S are met in a free state (soluble) or are been dependant on a sugar (glycosides) in the vacuolar liquid. The coloring of the derivatives depends on various substitutions of the atom of Hydrogène on various cycles, of the formation of complexes with the metal Ion S (Fe³⁺, Al³⁺) and of pH. Flavones glycosides like 3-rutin Quercetin and the Isovitexine were highlighted at Chémotype S of the the Sinai.

Traditional pharmacopeia

For a long time, the armoise white grass was recognized by the pastoral populations and Nomades for its purgative virtues. One uses it in particular like Vermifuge at the Ovin S. In Iraq also, the armoise prepared with the constitutes one of the forms of self medication against DNID. In Tunisia, a survey carried out in urban environment showed that the armoise is, inter alia, primarily used for the diseases of the digestive tract and like a treatment Antidiabétique. According to the questioned cases it gives a high percentage of improvement.

Gallery

. This name was translated in the Greek text by that of another bitter grass, better known in Europe, the wormwood ( Artemisia absinthium L.) and transmitted in the Bible of Louis Segond. In Greek, apsinthion (ἀψίνθιον: ἀ- privative of ψίνθιον, the pleasure) wants to say: imbuvable or pushing back, a direct allusion to the bitter taste and the toxicity of a plant. In the biblical text the wormwood is associated with the Amertume, poisoning, the suffering, the punishment or like metaphor of the injustice. This vision is clearly exposed in a note of the bible annotated of Neuchâtel (1900) on the Wormwood: " Very bitter plant, not mangeable. This pushing back food and this beverage are the image of the evils of the seat, the catch of the city and finally of the Exil which they will be constrained of subir".

In Tunisia, one highlighted the existence of two pennies Espèce S on the basis of chromosomal counting: the VAr. communis and the VAr. desertii .

References

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