Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of dried leaf and root of Artemisia crlm and Artemisia rehallrnwere tested on isolated mouse duodenum, guinea pig ileum and mouse uterine strips ill vitro.rnThe potential spasmolytic (relaxant) and spasmogenic (contractile) effect of the plants werernstudied in these smooth muscle tissue preparations. Different concentrations of each extract ofrnthe plants (ranging from 20-200 ~g/ml) were tried out in the presence of agonist controls,rnACh (in MD and MU) and histamine (in GPI) as contraction stimulators. A positivernantagonist control, papaverine was used as a smooth muscle relaxant in GPI. In most of thernethanolic extracts, there were significant dose-dependent reductions of ACh and histamineinducedrncontractions in both tissues (P < 0.05). Both spontaneous rhythmic and agonistinducedrncontractions of lvID and GPI were greatly reduced by ALE (56% and 35%rnrespectively) and RLE (65% and 56% respectively) at maximal dosages, which suggestsrnspasmolytic property ofthe crude extracts. All the extracts (200 ~lg/ml) except ALE and RLErnwere less potent than papaverine (I.5 ~lg/ml) in the experiment of GPI. Neither the aqueousrnnor ethanol extracts of the two plant species caused significant contractile or relaxant effectsrnon MU. All in all, the results in the present study pinpoint that the plants may possessrnspasmolytic as well as spasmogenic propelties based upon the appropriate use of extractivernsolvent. The results also support the traditional folk use of the aerial and root parts of thernplants more often for stomach pains and intestinal cramps than for fertility control purposes.