Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great strides in characterizing and understanding this remarkable phytochemical and its uniqu...

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Main Authors: Jigang Wang, Chengchao Xu, Yin Kwan Wong, Yujie Li, Fulong Liao, Tingliang Jiang, Youyou Tu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2019-02-01
Series:Engineering
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809918305423
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author Jigang Wang
Chengchao Xu
Yin Kwan Wong
Yujie Li
Fulong Liao
Tingliang Jiang
Youyou Tu
author_facet Jigang Wang
Chengchao Xu
Yin Kwan Wong
Yujie Li
Fulong Liao
Tingliang Jiang
Youyou Tu
author_sort Jigang Wang
collection DOAJ
description Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great strides in characterizing and understanding this remarkable phytochemical and its unique chemical and pharmacological properties. Today, even as artemisinin continues to serve as the foundation for antimalarial therapy, numerous challenges have surfaced in the continued application and development of this family of drugs. These challenges include the emergence of delayed treatment responses to artemisinins in malaria and efforts to apply artemisinins for non-malarial indications. Here, we provide an overview of the story of artemisinin in terms of its past, present, and future. In particular, we comment on the current understanding of the mechanism of action (MOA) of artemisinins, and emphasize the importance of relating mechanistic studies to therapeutic outcomes, both in malarial and non-malarial contexts. Keywords: Artemisinin, Mechanism of action, Malaria, Anti-cancer
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spelling doaj.art-2a5f65453b0a41ee811034ad92b123662022-12-22T00:13:26ZengElsevierEngineering2095-80992019-02-01513239Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese MedicineJigang Wang0Chengchao Xu1Yin Kwan Wong2Yujie Li3Fulong Liao4Tingliang Jiang5Youyou Tu6Artemisinin Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, Singapore; Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, SingaporeDepartment of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, SingaporeDepartment of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, SingaporeArtemisinin Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, ChinaArtemisinin Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, ChinaArtemisinin Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, ChinaArtemisinin Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Corresponding author.Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great strides in characterizing and understanding this remarkable phytochemical and its unique chemical and pharmacological properties. Today, even as artemisinin continues to serve as the foundation for antimalarial therapy, numerous challenges have surfaced in the continued application and development of this family of drugs. These challenges include the emergence of delayed treatment responses to artemisinins in malaria and efforts to apply artemisinins for non-malarial indications. Here, we provide an overview of the story of artemisinin in terms of its past, present, and future. In particular, we comment on the current understanding of the mechanism of action (MOA) of artemisinins, and emphasize the importance of relating mechanistic studies to therapeutic outcomes, both in malarial and non-malarial contexts. Keywords: Artemisinin, Mechanism of action, Malaria, Anti-cancerhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809918305423
spellingShingle Jigang Wang
Chengchao Xu
Yin Kwan Wong
Yujie Li
Fulong Liao
Tingliang Jiang
Youyou Tu
Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
Engineering
title Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
title_full Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
title_fullStr Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
title_full_unstemmed Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
title_short Artemisinin, the Magic Drug Discovered from Traditional Chinese Medicine
title_sort artemisinin the magic drug discovered from traditional chinese medicine
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809918305423
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