Artemisia glacialis is a rare, oxyphilous (lives in an acid environment) plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and grows in Mediterranean climates at altitudes above 1600 metres in alpine areas.

An extract is obtained from the dried aerial parts of this plant.

What it is used for and where

Food

The extract of Artemisia glacialis left to macerate in alcohol is used as a digestive liquor and is called genepi. The α-linolenic, linolenic and oleic unsaturated fatty acids contained in the leaves and shrub have a protective and regulating effect on the intestinal flora along with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties (1). It is unfortunate that this rare plant is used industrially as it is a rather rare species and indiscriminate use endangers its survival.

Cosmetics

The shrub Artemisia glacialis contains unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid, α-linolenic acid and linolenic acid, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

For more information:

Artemisia glacialis studies

References_____________________________________________________________________

Carvalho, I. S. D., Teixeira, M. C., & Brodelius, M. (2011). Fatty acids profile of selected Artemisia spp. plants: Health promotion. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 44(1), 293-298.

Compendium of the most significant studies with reference to properties, intake, effects.

Pieroni A, Giusti ME. Alpine ethnobotany in Italy: traditional knowledge of gastronomic and medicinal plants among the Occitans of the upper Varaita valley, Piedmont. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009 Nov 6;5:32. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-32. 

Abstract. A gastronomic and medical ethnobotanical study was conducted among the Occitan communities living in Blins/Bellino and Chianale, in the upper Val Varaita, in the Piedmontese Alps, North-Western Italy, and the traditional uses of 88 botanical taxa were recorded. Comparisons with and analysis of other ethnobotanical studies previously carried out in other Piemontese and surrounding areas, show that approximately one fourth of the botanical taxa quoted in this survey are also known in other surrounding Occitan valleys. It is also evident that traditional knowledge in the Varaita valley has been heavily eroded. This study also examined the local legal framework for the gathering of botanical taxa, and the potential utilization of the most quoted medicinal and food wild herbs in the local market, and suggests that the continuing widespread local collection from the wild of the aerial parts of Alpine wormwood for preparing liquors (Artemisia genipi, A. glacialis, and A. umbelliformis) should be seriously reconsidered in terms of sustainability, given the limited availability of these species, even though their collection is culturally salient in the entire study area.

Binet MN, van Tuinen D, Deprêtre N, Koszela N, Chambon C, Gianinazzi S. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with Artemisia umbelliformis Lam, an endangered aromatic species in Southern French Alps, influence plant P and essential oil contents. Mycorrhiza. 2011 Aug;21(6):523-535. doi: 10.1007/s00572-010-0354-y. 

Abstract. Root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi of Artemisia umbelliformis, investigated in natural and cultivated sites in the Southern Alps of France, showed typical structures (arbuscules, vesicles, hyphae) as well as spores and mycelia in its rhizosphere. Several native AM fungi belonging to different Glomeromycota genera were identified as colonizers of A. umbelliformis roots, including Glomus tenue, Glomus intraradices, G. claroideum/etunicatum and a new Acaulospora species. The use of the highly mycorrhizal species Trifolium pratense as a companion plant impacted positively on mycorrhizal colonization of A. umbelliformis under greenhouse conditions. The symbiotic performance of an alpine microbial community including native AM fungi used as inoculum on A. umbelliformis was evaluated in greenhouse conditions by comparison with mycorrhizal responses of two other alpine Artemisia species, Artemisia glacialis and Artemisia genipi Weber. Contrary to A. genipi Weber, both A. umbelliformis and A. glacialis showed a significant increase of P concentration in shoots. Volatile components were analyzed by GC-MS in shoots of A. umbelliformis 6 months after inoculation. The alpine microbial inoculum increased significantly the percentage of E-β-ocimene and reduced those of E-2-decenal and (E,E)-2-4-decadienal indicating an influence of alpine microbial inoculum on essential oil production. This work provides practical indications for the use of native AM fungi for A. umbelliformis field culture.

Caramiello, R., Fossa, V., Siniscalco, C., & Potenza, A. (1990). Flora palinologica italiana—Schede diArtemisia glacialis L., Artemisia genipi Weber, Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. su campioni freschi ed acetolizzati (schede n. S 175, S 176, S 177). Aerobiologia, 6(2), 221-238.

Abstract. According to the program «Palynological Italian Flora», palynological cards ofArtemisia glacialis L.,Artemisia genipi Weber,Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. with observation on LM and SEM are presented for fresh and acetolyzed pollens. Samples from two stations for each species are studied and statistical analyses were carried out for morphological parameters. Phytosociological significance and distribution of the species are related.

Bicchi, C., D'Amato, A., Nano, G. M., & Frattini, C. (1984). Capillary GLC controls of some alpineArtemisiae and of the related liqueurs. Chromatographia, 18(10), 560-566.

Abstract. Artemisia genipi Weber,Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. andArtemisia glacialis L. are plants of the Compositae family, traditionally employed in manufacturing a liqueur called “genepi”. Indiscriminate picking of these plants has increased their rarity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether it was possible to cultivate these three rare mountain plants, and to assess the quality of plants available commercially and also of manufactured liqueurs. The results of the gas chromatographic analyses of volatile components from both plants and liqueurs are reported. In the present investigation three different techniques were used: direct head-space analysis by capillary GC of plants and liqueurs, and capillary GC analysis of the volatile extracts of plants and liqueurs after two different microdistillation processes.

Carvalho, I. S. D., Teixeira, M. C., & Brodelius, M. (2011). Fatty acids profile of selected Artemisia spp. plants: Health promotion. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 44(1), 293-298.

Abstract. In the present study we report the fatty acids profile of thirteen species of Artemisia, a hardy herb or shrub, analyzed by gas chromatography connected to a mass detector (GC-MS) for their nutritional value and their potential exploitation as a new source of essential fatty acids. Total lipids content ranged from 3.31 ± 0.19 to 17.78 ± 0.27 mg/g (fresh weight). The three most abundant fatty acids were C16:0, C18:2ω6 and C18:3ω3. Unsaturated fatty acids predominated in all the Artemisia species are studied with the α-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA), which are essential for normal human growth, health promotion, and disease prevention. The predominant ω3 PUFA acid in all Artemisia species analyzed, was linolenic acid, with Artemisia gmellini, Artemisia ludoviciana and Artemisia vulgaris, showing higher amounts of this fatty acid, all thirteen species, analyzed in this study, were also rich in oleic acid (ω9) and linoleic acid (ω6), accounted for 50–70% of total PUFA. The ratio of ω3 PUFA to ω6 PUFA was similar in all species, varying from 1.0 to 3.0. Identifying Artemisia species as newer sources of PUFAs and enriching or optimizing the ω3FAs in known plant sources offer us ways of increasing the availability of ω3FAs in the food supply.

D'Andrea, S., Caramiello, R., Ghignone, S., & Siniscalco, C. (2003). Systematic studies on some species of the genus Artemisia: biomolecular analysis. Plant biosystems-an International Journal dealing with all aspects of Plant Biology, 137(2), 121-130.

Abstract. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA gene of 11 taxa of the genus Artemisia were sequenced and compared with other 14 species taken from GenBank. The aims of this study are to clarify phylogenetic relationships for 25 taxa within the genus Artemisia, and to highlight the phylogenetic position of some species of geobotanical interest from the Alps or from other European areas. The results support the monophyly of the genus Artemisia, and the presence of the five main clades, corresponding to the morphologically based sections, Absinthium, Artemisia, Seriphidium, Dracunculus and Tridentatae. Only A. annua and A. genipi are not classified in the section in which they were traditionally included: A. annua is assigned to Seriphidium and not Artemisia, and A. genipi to Absinthium and not Artemisia. The basal structure of the tree differed in the 45 equally parsimonious MP trees, and thus appeared as a polytomy in the consensus tree. This does not allow us to completely solve the relationships among the clades. The molecular data are complementary with the morphological and biogeographical information and all are essential to draw valid conclusions on the relative closeness of the various taxa.

Ferrarini, E. (1970). Considerazioni sull'origine della flora e sull'oscillazione dei piani di vegetazione delle Alpi Apuane. Biogeographia–The Journal of Integrative Biogeography, 1(1).