Artemisia princeps, also called Korean wormwood, Korean mugwort, and Japanese mugwort in English, is an Asian plant species in the sunflower family, native to China, Japan, and Korea. It is a perennial, very vigorous plant that grows to 1.2 meters. This species spreads rapidly by means of underground stolons and can become invasive. It bears small, buff-colored flowers from July to November which are hermaphroditic, and pollinated by wind. The leaves are feather shaped, scalloped and light green, with white dense fuzz on the underside.
Uses
Culinary
Leaves and young seedlings can be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be used in salads and soups after removal of the bitterness.
In Japan it is called yomogi and the leaves are sometimes blanched and added to soups or rice. Its leaves, along with those of hahakogusa, are a fundamental ingredient in kusa mochi, a Japanese confectionery, to which it imparts its fresh, springlike fragrance and vivid green coloring. The young leaves can be lightly boiled before being pounded and added to glutinous rice dumplings known as mochi to which they give a pleasant colour, aroma and flavour. Mugwort mochi can be found in many North Americanhealth food stores. Japanese mugwort is used to make a tea called yomogi-cha It is said to have detox effects and help with healthy pregnancy. It is often served when serving hittsumi noodles
Korea
Mugwort, referred to as ssuk in Korean, is widely used in Korean cuisine as well as in traditional medicine. In spring, which is the harvesting season, the young leaves of mugwort are used to prepare savory dishes such as jeon, ssuk kimchi,, ssukguk. Most commonly, however, fresh mugwort as well as dried leaves ground into powder are a characteristic ingredient in various types of tteok. Today, ssuk also adds flavor and color to more contemporary desserts and beverages, e.g. ice cream, breads, cakes, mugwort tea and ssuk latte.
Medicinal
Artemisia princeps is one of the species of mugwort used as moxa in Moxibustion, a traditional medical practice of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal and Vietnam. An evaluation of the efficacy of the smoke and water extracts of the herb found that both preparations inhibited the growth of a specific line of breast cancer cellsin vitro. Phenolics from A. princeps such as 3-CQA, 4-CQA, 5-CQA alleviated the oxidative stress and enhanced the viability of certain neuronal cells in vitro.
