Artemisinin

タイトルまたは説明

Artemisinin-An antimalarial agent extracted from the dry leaves of the Chinese herb Artemsisia annua (qinghaosu or sweet wormwood). This plant is grown each year starting from seed and only yields artemesinin under specific agricultural and climatological conditions. Artemisinin acts rapidly and potently against the malarial parasite, including some drug-resistant strains. Without significant side effects, it quickly reduces fever and lowers the blood levels of the parasite. This help to keep small outbreaks of malaria from becoming epidemics and to quell ongoing epidemics. In a malaria epidemic in the early ***0's in Vietnam, artemisinin reduced the death rate by *7%.