Mugwort

Research corpus coverage

Chemistry notes

• CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include volatile oils including variable thujone; flavonoids; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

• TRADITIONAL: Mugwort has been used for digestive and menstrual complaints; moxibustion; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.

  MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

Modern evidence

• EVIDENCE: For the major use set (digestive and menstrual complaints; moxibustion), the evidence assessment is insufficient: Insufficient clinical evidence for oral uses; moxibustion studies do not establish herb efficacy independently.

  LOW · regulatory monograph and mixed scientific literature · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

Forms used traditionally

A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.

Cats & dogs

• High risk

  Ingestion of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) primarily causes gastrointestinal irritation; large ingestions may cause tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and increased liver enzyme or kidney marker concentrations.

  Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · plant material or herbal preparation · HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicosis en animales por suplementos dietéticos y plantas ...

• High risk

  Ingestion of large amounts of mugwort can cause gastrointestinal irritation, tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and elevations in liver enzyme activity and renal marker concentrations.

  Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · Artemisia vulgaris plant material; preparation not otherwise specified · HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicoses in Animals From Human Dietary and Herbal Supplements

• High risk

  Mugwort essential oil is listed among common essential oils that can cause poisoning in animals.

  Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · essential oil · HIGH · poison_control_database · Essential Oils | Pet Poison Helpline®

• Caution

  Mugwort ingestion primarily causes gastrointestinal irritation; large ingestions may produce tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and increased hepatic and renal biomarkers.

  Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · plant material; preparation not otherwise specified · HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicosis en animales por suplementos dietéticos y a base ...

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

• SAFETY: Major issues include Strong allergy; neurotoxicity with thujone-rich oil; abortifacient concern. Contraindications/cautions include Pregnancy; Asteraceae allergy; seizures.

  HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

• SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Potential anticonvulsant and anticoagulant interactions.

  MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

  Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.

• SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Avoid in pregnancy/lactation.

  MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

  Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.

• Ingestion of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) primarily causes gastrointestinal irritation; large ingestions may cause tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and increased liver enzyme or kidney marker concentrations.

  HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicosis en animales por suplementos dietéticos y plantas ...

  The page also refers to mugwort as wormwood, but identifies the plant as Artemisia vulgaris; no dog-versus-cat comparison is provided.

• Mugwort ingestion primarily causes gastrointestinal irritation; large ingestions may produce tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and increased hepatic and renal biomarkers.

  HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicosis en animales por suplementos dietéticos y a base ...

  The source also uses the common name wormwood, but the scientific identification given is Artemisia vulgaris; no constituent or dog-versus-cat difference is provided.

• Ingestion of large amounts of mugwort can cause gastrointestinal irritation, tremors, seizures, coma, respiratory failure, and elevations in liver enzyme activity and renal marker concentrations.

  HIGH · veterinary_manual · Toxicoses in Animals From Human Dietary and Herbal Supplements

  The page uses mugwort for Artemisia vulgaris and does not provide a toxic threshold or preparation-specific distinction.

• Mugwort essential oil is listed among common essential oils that can cause poisoning in animals.

  HIGH · poison_control_database · Essential Oils | Pet Poison Helpline®

  No mugwort-specific toxic constituent, dose, route-specific profile, or sign profile is provided.

Taxonomic identity note

• Mugwort is treated here as Artemisia vulgaris L. in the family Asteraceae; recorded older names include Artemisia opulenta Pamp..