Hypoglycaemic effect of Artemisia herba alba. I. Effect of different parts and influence of the solvent on hypoglycaemic activity.

Artemisia herba alba is widely used in Iraqi folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Oral administration of 0.39 g/kg body weight of the aqueous extract of the leaves or barks produced a significant reduction in blood glucose level, while the aqueous extract of roots and the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant produce almost no reduction in blood glucose level. The extract of the aerial parts of the plant seem to have minimal adverse effect and high LD50 value.