Background: Artemisia absinthium L is an ornamental plant widespread in Saudi Arabia. Traditionally, the plant has been used in the Arabic medicine. But the scientific evidence of the bioactive compounds and their medicinal value was not yet explored widely.

Objective: The study was designed to analyse the bioactive principles and medicinal properties of Artemisia absinthium L, a traditional herb grown in southern part of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: The bioactive compounds present in Hot Methanolic Extract of the Leaves (HMEL) of Artemisia absinthium L. was explored by GC-MS analysis. The cytotoxicity effect of HMEL was determined against MCF-7 breast cancer cells ATCC and human colon cancer cells HCT 116 ATCC by performing MTT assay. Morphological changes of HMEL treated MCF-7 were observed under a phasecontrast microscope by staining the cells with neutral red. A Reaction Mixture (RM) of HMEL was prepared in Milli-Q water and antibacterial susceptibility was performed against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, in vivo wound healing properties of the RM was screened in male rats and their efficacy was compared with standard povidone iodine cream. Biomarkers such as IL-1β, IL- 6, TNF- α, caspase-9 and caspase-3 levels were determined to qualify the wound healing property.

Results: Epiyangambin, flavone, octadecanoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester, palmitic acid β - monoglyceride, á-D-mannofuranoside, camphor, and terpineol were identified as possible compounds through GC-MS analysis. The HMEL of Artemisia absinthium L was actively inhibiting the proliferation of breast cancer cells MCF-7 ATCC at the concentration of 80.96 ± 3.94 μg/ml as IC50 value but failed to inhibit the proliferation against the treated human colon cancer cells HCT 116 cells ATCC. HMEL of Artemisia absinthium L was showing a moderate spectrum of antibacterial effect against the screened bacteria. RM showed better wound healing property than standard povidone iodine cream that modulates cytokine networks and apoptosis markers levels indicated the healing of wound.

Conclusion: The study suggested that novel anticancer, antibacterial and immune modulatory molecules can be developed from the leaves of Artemisia absinthium L.

背景：苦艾蒿（Artemisia absinthium L）是一种在沙特阿拉伯广泛分布的观赏植物。传统上，该植物已用于阿拉伯医学。但是有关生物活性化合物及其药用价值的科学证据尚未得到广泛的探索。

目的：本研究旨在分析沙特阿拉伯南部种植的传统草药艾蒿（Asemisia absinthium L）的生物活性原理和药用特性。

方法：通过气相色谱-质谱法分析苦艾叶中甲醇热提取物中的生物活性化合物。通过进行MTT测定，确定了HMEL对MCF-7乳腺癌细胞ATCC和人结肠癌细胞HCT 116 ATCC的细胞毒性作用。在相差显微镜下，通过用中性红染色细胞，观察了HMEL处理的MCF-7的形态变化。在Milli-Q水中制备HMEL的反应混合物（RM），并对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌进行抗菌敏感性测试。此外，在雄性大鼠中筛选了RM的体内伤口愈合特性，并将其功效与标准聚维酮碘乳膏进行了比较。生物标志物，例如IL-1β，IL-6，TNF-α，

结果：通过GC-MS分析鉴定出了表扬比安，黄酮，十八烷酸，2,3-二羟丙酯，棕榈酸β-单甘油酯，α-D-甘露呋喃糖苷，樟脑和松油醇。苦艾的HMEL以IC50值为80.96±3.94μg/ ml有效地抑制了乳腺癌细胞MCF-7ATC​​C的增殖，但是未能抑制针对处理过的人结肠癌细胞HCT 116细胞ATCC的增殖。苦艾蒿的HMEL对筛选出的细菌显示出中等程度的抗菌效果。RM显示出比标准聚维酮碘乳膏更好的伤口愈合特性，后者可调节细胞因子网络，并且凋亡标记物水平表明伤口已愈合。

结论：研究表明，可以从苦艾蒿的叶片中开发出新型的抗癌，抗菌和免疫调节分子。