Antimalarial medicine, Chinese traditional

The Chinese government started an antimalarial research program to search for traditional Chinese medicinal plants to support the Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War (1965-1975). As a result, artemisinin (1) was identified in 1972 as the active antimalarial constituent of A. annua. 

QEVGHAOSU (ARTEMISININ)—A FANTASTIC ANTIMALARIAL DRUG FROM A TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE... 

The antimalarial properties of the traditional Chinese medicine, Quinghaosu (artemisinin)... 

Li Y, Huang H, Wu YL. Qinghaosu (Artemisinin) - A fantastic antimalarial drug from a traditional Chinese medicine. In Medicinal Chemistry of Bioactive Natural Products. Liang XT, Fang WS, eds. 2006. John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, NJ, pp. 183—256. Meshnick SR. In Antimalarial Chemotherapy. Rosenthal PI, ed. 2001. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 191-201. 

Artemisinin, the principal bioactive antimalarial compound and its derivatives from Artemisia annua, a Traditional Chinese Medicinal plant used against fevers and malaria, have yielded a potent new class of antimalarials. The anti-malarials derived from A. annua are considered an integral part of the solution where malaria has become resistant to other medicines and even in areas where resistance is not yet a problem (S). Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have been recommended in the countries where falciparam malaria - the most resistant form of the disease- is endemic (9). While ACTs for all would be the ideal strategy, it is most impractical for poor and remote communities, politically unstable areas, and people who dislike the use of modem medicine (10). 

Artemisinin (qinghaosu) provides a more recent example of a plant-derived antimalarial agent. Based on the reputed antimalarial use of Artemisia annua in the Chinese system of traditional medicine, artemisinin was isolated from the plant as the active compound, developed as a drug, and released for clinical use as a blood schizonticide (66-68). Artemisinin is a... 

The marked and pronoimced antimalarial activity of Quinghausu as the constituent of a traditional Chinese medicinal vQrh Artemisia annunaL., (sweet wormwood) has been known in China for over 200 years. However, the active principle was first isolated in 1972 and found to be a sesquiterpene lactone with a peroxy moiety. 

The most important peroxide belonging to the 1,2,4-trioxane family is a natural product, obtained from Artemisia annua, which is a very potent antimalarial drug having low human toxicity. The compound, artemisinin, originates from research on traditional Chinese medicinal practice. Its antimalarial activity is associated with the presence of the... 

---