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Wormwood originating from Ganghwa is the most highly rated of all wormwood varieties distributed at Gyeongdong Market, the busy wholesale oriental medicine market located in Jegi-dong, Seoul. Ganghwa wormwood is universally recognized among professionals in the field of oriental medicine as the world’s best in terms of treatment efficacy.
The earliest mention of the sacred virtues of wormwood is found in the myth of Korea’s founding. The metamorphosis of the bear into a woman who would become the female ancestor of all Koreans was made possible, according to the myth, by a diet of garlic and wormwood. Meanwhile, Donguibogam, the authoritative 16th-century Korean medical treatise, refers to this herb as the “wondrous remedy to all gynecological illnesses.” Aside being used as a medicinal ingredient, the herb is also distributed in the forms of moxibustion cones, tablets, powder, tea and beverage. Currently there are 96 wormwood growers in Ganghwa Island, on almost 10 ha of land in total.
- Inquiries: Yangdo-myeon, Insan Wormwood Crop Unit +82-32-937-2092 Hwado-myeon, Munsan Wormwood Crop Unit +82-32-937-1106
Botanical and Ecological Characteristics
Ganghwa wormwood is a perennial plant with broad deep-green foliage, growing to about 70cm in height. It is characterized by deeply-cleft leaves, which are often compared to a lion’s paw. The plant develops numerous offshoots, and the back side of its leaves are densely covered with white fur. The plant can also be recognized by its strong, distinctive aroma.
Wormwood blossoms from July to September. The reddish-mauve florets look like ears of grain, and are quite tiny, each measuring about 3mm in diameter.
Wormwood naturally grows on coastal mountain slopes at around 100m above sea level. The plant requires abundant sunshine and soil rich in organic substances. Wormwood prefers well-drained terrain.
Nutrients and Active Ingredients
Essential oil, tannic acid, resin, bitter-tasting substance, artemisine, ascorbic acid, carotene, cineol, adenine, vitamins A, B and C, monoginin, choline, lactic acid, terdecatine, annulin and amylase, etc.
The leaves and the stems of the wormwood contain different medicinal substances.
The leaves contain an abundance of Vitamins A, B and C.
The root is a rich source of a substance called artemos, which is widely used as a preventive and treatment drug for a variety of illnesses.
Health Benefits and Healing Properties
Menstrual disorders and other gynecological bleeding (excessive menstruation, menorrhagia, bleeding during pregnancy, irregular menstruation)
Relieves acute and chronic pain (muscle pain, neuralgia, stomach ulcer, headache, arthralgia, gastric pain, diarrhea, dysentery)
Antibiotic & antiphlogistic properties (can be used for smoke disinfection, kills germs in the blood vessels and muscles)
Improves symptoms associated with gastro-enteric disease, skin disease, respiratory illness, flu, paralysis, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, leprosy, gastric cancer and syphilis.
Can be used to treat gonorrhea, cerebral edema, rheumatism, and diseases caused by the inhalation of toxic fumes and smoke.
