Artemisinin

Artemisinin is a fast-acting and widely used antimalarial agent. Artemisinin was first isolated in 1971 from Chinese medicinal herb Artemisia annua by Tu, a Chinese scientist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Omura and Campbell in 2015. After the activity of artemisinin had been established, several analogs such as such as artemether [A2190], artesunate [A2191] and dihydroartemisinin [D3793] were developed to improve bioavailability and efficacy. Artemisinin and its analogs have high efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum in the blood stages of the disease. The exact mechanism of action is still not clear, while the endoperoxide (O-O) subunit of the trioxane ring is critical for antimalarial activity. Several lines of evidence indicate that the O-O bond is easily broken by Fe²⁺, generating a number of reactive radicals oxidatively damage parasite. (The product is for research purpose only.)