Sweet Annie

• What other names is Sweet Annie known by?
• What is Sweet Annie?
• How does Sweet Annie work?
• Are there safety concerns?
• Dosing considerations for Sweet Annie.

What other names is Sweet Annie known by?

Absinthe Sauvage, Ajenjo Silvestre, Annual Mugwort, Annual Wormwood, Armoise Amère, Armoise Annuelle, Artémise, Artemisia annua, Artemisia, Artemisinin, Chinese Wormwood, Ching-hao, Herba Artemisiae Annuae, Herbe aux Cent Goûts, Huang Hua Guo, Qing Hao, Qinghaosu, Sourcil de Lune, Sweet Wormwood.

What is Sweet Annie?

Sweet Annie is an herb. The parts that grow above the ground are used to make medicine.

Sweet Annie is used most commonly for malaria. It contains a chemical that can be changed in the laboratory to make it more effective against malaria. This lab-made product is sold as a prescription drug for malaria in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Sweet Annie is also used for bacterial infections such as dysentery and tuberculosis; illnesses caused by worms, other parasites, and mites; fungal infections; and viral infections such as the common cold. Other uses include treatment of upset stomach, fever, yellowed skin (jaundice), psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune disorders, loss of appetite, blood vessel disorders, constipation, gallbladder disorders, stomach pain, painful menstruation, and joint pain (rheumatism).

People with AIDS sometimes use sweet Annie to prevent an often fatal type of lung infection called pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) that is caused by a fungus.

Sweet Annie is sometimes applied directly to the skin for bacterial and fungal infections, arthritis and other joint pain, bruises, nerve pain, and sprains.

Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...

• Malaria. Taking sweet Annie tea for 4-7 days might improve symptoms and decrease the number of active parasites in people with malaria. The tea should not be boiled, because heat will destroy the chemical that seems to fight malaria. There is some concern that if sweet Annie tea is used alone instead of in combination with usual malaria treatments it might only inactivate the malaria parasites, not actually kill them.
• AIDS-related infections.
• Anorexia.
• Arthritis.
• Bacterial infections.
• Fungal infections.
• Bruises.
• Common cold.
• Constipation.
• Diarrhea.
• Fever.
• Gallbladder disorders.
• Upset stomach.
• Yellowing of the skin (jaundice).
• Night sweats.
• Painful menstruation.
• Psoriasis.
• Scabies.
• Sprains.
• Tuberculosis.
• Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of sweet Annie for these uses.

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate (detailed description of each of the ratings).