Artemisinin

Article number:

7550888

CAS No.:

63968-64-9

Formula:

C15H22O5

Chemical description:

Synonyms:

Arteannuin; Winghaosu; Huanghuahaosu; Qinghaosu; Qing Hau Sau; Qing Hau Su; Qinghosu

Molecular weight:

282,33 g/mol

Science 228:1049 (1985); Drugs 52:818 (1996); Trends Pharmacol Sci 20:199 (1999)

Plant: in the leaves and flowers of the annual mugwort (Artemisia annua).
  • Is a secondary plant compound, chemically a sesquiterpene.
  • It is used worldwide to treat infections with multidrug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria tropica
  • The annual mugwort, from which artemisinin is extracted, is grown in China, Vietnam and East African countries . Up to two tons of leaf material can be harvested from a cultivated area of one hectare, providing two to three kilograms of the extract.

 

Mode of action:

  • Artemisinin has a peroxide structure.
  • At high concentrations of iron ions, this peroxide becomes unstable and decomposes into free radicals.

 

History:

Chinese scientist Tu Youyou isolated artemisinin in the early 1970s and demonstrated its efficacy against malaria in the following decades.

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Artemisinin

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