Chenopodium ambrosioides var. anthelminticum
FAMILY: Chenopodiaceae
SYNONYMS: C. anthelminticum, American wormseed, chenopodium, Californian spearmint, Jesuit’s tea, Mexican tea, herb sancti mariae, Baltimore (oil).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A hairy, coarse, perennial wayside herb up to 1 metre high with stout, erect stem, oblong-lanceolate leaves and numerous greenish-yellow flowers, the same colour as the leaves.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to South America; cultivated mainly in the east and south east USA, also India, Hungary and the USSR.
OTHER SPECIES: The parent plant, C. ambrosioides, is also used to produce an essential oil with similar properties. There are many different members in the Chenopodium or Goosefoot family, such as Good King Henry (C. bonus-henricus), a European variety whose leaves were eaten like spinach. See also Botanical Classification section.
The so-called ‘Russian wormseed oil’ or wormseed Levant (Artemisia cina) is quite different from the American type, although it is also used as an anthelmintic and is extremely toxic, containing mainly cineol.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: ‘Used for many years by the local Indians as an effective anthelmintic ... several Indian tribes of the eastern part of the United States use the whole of the herb decocted to help ease painful menstruation and other female complaints.’. Apart from being used to expel roundworm, hookworm and dwarf tapeworm, the herb has also been employed for asthma, catarrh and other chest complaints, and to treat nervous disease. In China it is used to treat articular rheumatism. Causes dizziness and vomiting in concentration.
ACTIONS: Anthelmintic, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, expectorant, hypotensive.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the whole herb, especially the fruit or seeds.
CHARACTERISTICS: A colourless or pale yellow oil with a sweet-woody, camphoraceous, heavy and nauseating odour.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Ascaridole (60–80 per cent), cymene, limonene, terpinene, myrcene.
SAFETY DATA: A very toxic oil – cases of fatal poisoning have been reported even in low doses. Effects can be cumulative. Due to high ascaridole content, the oil may explode when heated or treated with acids.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None. ‘Should not be used in therapy either internally or externally. One of the most toxic essential oils.’.
OTHER USES: In pharmaceuticals its anthelmintic applications have been replaced by synthetics. Used as a fragrance component in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and perfumes. Its use is not permitted in foods.... wormseed
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