Evaluation of domestic wild populations of Artemisia princeps and Artemisia montana suitable for progressing to Mogusa used for moxibustion therapy / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

The domestic production of moxa used in Japanese moxibustion therapy has decreased. Therefore, it is assumed that improved productivity of moxa and cultivation of Artemisa princeps Pamp. (Yomogi) is necessary for stable production of moxa. In this study, the production rate of moxa processed from green leaves, its chlorophyll content, maximum temperature of combustion, morphology, and yield of families collected from 127 domestic spots were investigated. They were evaluated to determine which family was suitable for use in moxibustion. As a result of principal component analysis on the morphological evaluation, 22 families were extracted as they were easily harvestable and were produced over a large area. They had a high productivity rate for moxa, and contained more than the standard weight in dry leaves among all the families. It was confirmed that these extracted families included families that have not been used so far in addition to families collected in conventional areas. These results suggest that production using extracted families can improve the domestic production of Artemisa princeps of moxa.