Artemisinin is isolated from the shrub Artemisia annua and has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat malaria. It has been used by Chinese herbalists for more than a thousand years in the treatment of many illnesses, such as skin diseases and malaria. Current research is investigating more potent derivatives for pharmaceutical use. It has proven to be the most effective anti-malarial drug ever produced. Artemisinin and its derivatives are endoperoxide-containing compounds which represent a promising new class of antimalarial drugs. In the presence of intraparasitic iron, these drugs are converted into free radicals and other electrophilic intermediates which then alkylate specific malaria target proteins. Combinations of available derivatives and other antimalarial agents show promise both as first-line agents and in the treatment of severe disease.
Artemisinin has been also used for centuries to kill parasites, particularly worms and flukes. These parasites, which are present in us all, create a burden for the body, sapping energy resources and creating by-products that need to be excreted. Artemisinin is a herbal treatment for parasitic infections and malaria that also protects against particular types of cancer. It has also proven itself as a safe and effective treatment for malaria in over two million patients, and now studies are showing that Artemisinin is effective against a wide variety of cancers as shown in a series of successful experiments. The most effective is leukemia and colon cancer. Intermediate activities were also shown against melanoma, breast, ovarian, prostate, CNS and renal cancer. WHO recommends use of an Artemisinin derivative in combination with a standard antimalarial drug to treat malaria attacks.
References:
BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/malaria_prog_summary.shtml
S R Meshnick, T E Taylor, and S Kamchonwongpaisan, University of Michigan School of Public Health. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=239445
Internation Antiaging System. http://www.antiaging-systems.com/a2z/artemisinin.htm
