Discussion paper: Cancer and Artemisia annua anamed

Dear Friends,
We receive so many questions regarding Artemisia annua anamed  (A-3), that we have prepared these general remarks:

1. In this paper we mean by “Artemisia tea” the organically grown dried leaves (Folia!) of Artemisia annua anamed (abbreviated to A-3). This is a breed with 20 times the usual content of active ingredients in the average wild type. Our tea comes from our organic and certified anamed-farm in Germany. This tea must have either been bought from anamed or grown from original A-3 seeds which have been carefully sown and the plants cared for according to our recommendations. These notes do not apply to other species of Artemisia, e.g. wormwood, not for the wild type of Artemisia annua which may be bought from the pharmacy or via the internet either as tea or in capsules, and also not for Herba(!) Artemisia annua, which mainly consists of effectless stems.
2. We are astonished how many diseases and health complaints can be treated or helped with tea made from Artemisia annua. The pharmaceutical industry has influenced the law in such a way that it is very difficult for small organisations like anamed to recommend any natural remedies legally.
3. In Germany, A-3 is not a recognised and registered medicine; therefore we cannot accept any responsibility for legal reasons. On a trial basis and based on the recommendations of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia  anamed co-workers who are suffering from cancer have taken Artemisia tea, at their own risk, as follows:
   • In the acute phase they drink daily one litre of A-3 tea made with 5 – 10 g of dried Artemisia leaves (depending on the severity of the disease this may be for a week or even for a period of months).
   • In the chronic phase, they drink 1.25 g of A-3 tea daily, and this for weeks or even years.
   The experience of cancer patients who use A-3 so far seems to indicate that
   1. sometimes the condition improves very dramatically,
   2. sometimes A-3 seems to have little or no effect,
   3. when taken alongside chemo or radiotherapy; the negative side effects of these therapies are sometimes not, sometimes slightly, sometimes drastically ameliorated.
4. Proposition: Make a blood and/or tumour analysis today, and then take 10 g A-3 per day during 6 weeks, (for example as powder in the morning and in the evening, each time 5 g in yoghurt or in mineral water). If you wish you can also take 10 g Moringa per day (order number 501). After 6 weeks you can make the same analysis again. If possible, your doctor should control the results on a weekly basis.
5.   Please read our publication about Artemisia (Order number 204 in English, 202 in German, 203 in French…). This gives you all the information that you could possibly need about the use of Artemisia. Please order it the first time you order A-3. For those who would like more scientific information, we recommend the brochure “A-3: From Research to Experience” (only available in English, order no. 220).
6. In order to avoid any legal problems, we inform you that all therapies have to be done under the control of a doctor. Please order A-3 and our publications as follows: “Please send me the Artemisia document in … (indicate the language or order number)  together with … packs of 50 g of dried leaves of Artemisia annua anamed as raw material, not as medicine”. The reason is that we are not allowed to sell Artemisia tea as a medicine. However, with dried Artemisia leaves you may produce an ointment. We are allowed, to sell it as a raw material (thank you for your understanding). Please see the prices plus the postal charges per order. Within Germany the delivered packet can be paid after reception by enclosed invoice; for other countries it has to be paid in advance. Minimal order value is 20 €.
7. Artemisinin is contained in A-3 tea and is patented as a biological chemotherapeutic substance!!! However, it does not have the side effects that ordinary “chemical” chemotherapy has: bone marrow depression, nausea, vomiting, mucous membrane damage, hair lost… just google: patent 5,578,637
   In the Internet you will find a lot more literature on the topic of “Cancer and Artemisia annua” or “Artemisinin cancer“, Artemininin lung cancer, etc.
8. It is up to you to decide whether you inform your doctor about using A-3 either for  treatment or for prophylaxis for metastasis. In the ideal case, your doctor will also be most interested to know the results of this method of treatment. Some doctors are also working with us like the Emil Schlegel clinic in Rottenburg (phone +49 7472-9366370). We believe that the therapy with Artemisia tea, i.e. with the full plant is effective and economically profitable.
9. It is important to emphasise that:
   1. A-3 is “anamedopathy“: both “alternative medicine” and “complementary medicine”! So A-3 is not just a harmless decorative accessory to chemotherapy (“does no harm, doesn’t help”)
   2. A-3 can be effective as an ALTERNATIVE MEDECINE: the 20 (approx.) antitumor substances in the Artemisia plant act as “bio-chemotherapeutic agents” and are partly patented as such, but too cheaply to be of commercial interest. I therefore suggest patients diagnosed with cancer, wherever possible, to use this bio-chemotherapy exclusively for the six weeks immediately following the diagnosis (see below), if possible with weekly doctor’s examinations, before then deciding how to proceed.
   3. A-3 can be effective as a COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE: A-3 can strengthen the effects of radiation, reduce the side effects of “chemical chemotherapy”, and prevent the tumour cells from developing resistance against “chemical chemotherapy”.
10. We are often asked whether Artemisia tea and cytostatic drugs can be taken together. One REASON NOT TO is that the Artemisinin molecule that the tea contains causes an enzymatic increase (Cytochrome P450) which causes a faster decomposition of certain cytostatics in the liver, e.g. vinblastine, vincristine, iriniotecan, paclitaxel, docetaxel, busulphan, etoposide, and tenoposide and possibly methotrexate. It is therefore possibly better in such cases, not to use Artemisia tea with the cytostatic therapy but at other times.
    One REASON TO combine both is that the Artemisia side effect (enzyme-induction) is inhibited through the taking of Moringa powder (more on this issue see (1) below). Moreover, it is also well-known that sometimes Artemisinin inhibits the resistance of cancer cells against cytostatic drugs.
    CONCLUSION: It is therefore reasonable to discuss this issue with your doctor. Personally, I would be thankful if the two therapies could be done separately, so as to better assess successes and failures of each of them.
11. We are very actively collecting and compiling the experiences of cancer patients who are using A-3. This data will help us to considerably improve our understanding and our recommendations. Therefore we ask you to help us by sharing your experiences with A-3 – whether A-3 helped a lot, a little or not at all. If you can give us the results of laboratory tests, even better! You will receive a questionnaire with the Artemisia delivery.
12. Costs: ask your health insurance company, whether they can reimburse you for “complementary medicine” or “medicines from traditional Chinese medicines”. If so, get a private prescription for Artemisia/Moringa and submit the private prescription along with our invoice and your bank transfer receipt, to your health insurance company (so once you have paid our invoice).
13. You will have learnt from our Home Page that our primary concern is not the promotion of Natural Medicine in Europe, but in developing countries. If Artemisia has indeed helped you, please support our partners in those countries with a donation.

All the best, yours Hans-Martin Hirt

Note: this text is no substitute for medical advice. Dr. Hans-Martin Hirt is professional pharmacist, he does not run a pharmacy. He works full-time in the development partnership. He isn’t oncologist. The organization “anamed” can only offer A-3 tea and Moringa powder as raw materials, neither is accredited as medicines. “anamed” promotes home-growing these plants, especially where no doctors work anymore! Detailed literature.