Artemisiae Argyi Folium and its geo-authentic crude drug qi ai

To comprehensively review the literature relating to the use of Artemisiae Argyi Folium (AAF; the dried leaf of Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Vant. from the Asteraceae family), and qi ai (AAF grown in Qichun County and the adjacent areas in Hubei Province, China) in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. Furthermore, this study aimed to give results of the contents determination of three bioactive components in qi ai and AAF.

The literature was reviewed to acquire relevant information regarding the quality and application of AAF and qi ai. In addition, the contents of the bioactive components (essential oil, total flavonoids and tannins) were determined in 29 AAF samples collected from China and Korea using the methods in the Chinese pharmacopoeia (2015) or determined by our experiments.

The dried leaf of A. argyi Lévl. et Vant. from the Asteraceae family is a mainstream commodity of AAF. Qi ai is a commercial type of AAF well-known for its good quality, which has been recorded in Chinese ancient literature. Modern research has showed that more intense heat with stronger penetration was generated in moxibustion therapy when qi ai moxa stick was burnt compared with general moxa stick, which led to a better curative effect. Our research also showed that the contents of essential oil, total flavonoids and tannin in qi ai were significantly higher than those of general AAF samples.

The superior quality of qi ai compared with general AAF may be due to relatively higher contents of bioactive components. This study provides basic information for further study and utilization of AAF and qi ai.