Scientists Against Malaria

Alkaloid chemistry is a small part of chemistry, whose history began in 1805, when the first alkaloid was isolated. Since this time, there have been many famous achievements in research and product development. A host of excellent scientists have been working successfully in this field. Alkaloid chemistry has saved many millions of lives by producing the knowledge, on the bases of which alkaloid-based medicines have been developed against malaria and other diseases. Chemistry has not only investigated alkaloids, their structures and activity, but also developed methods for their modifications and structural manipulation. These methods are successfully used in both the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology. 

Similiar animal studies using a malaria model system have also proved successful. Using a strain of mice for which malaria infection is normally lethal, scientists have found that administration of low doses of IL-12 (10-30 ng/day for 5 days) to infected mice offered effective protection against the disease. 

Qinghao (Artemisia annua L.) is an important medicinal herb, which has h>een used in the Chinese traditional system of medicine for many centuries. In 1972, Chinese scientists isolated (+)-artemisinin (7, qinghaosu) from the above plant, which is indigenous to China [27-30]. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone peroxide, whose structure and synthesis have been worked out [27,28]. It has marked activity against both chloroquine-sensitive and resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum and is particularly suitable for treating cerebral malaria as it is very fast acting [29-31]. 

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