|
|
Article: Artemisinin: from malaria to cancer treatment.
- Article from:
- Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
- Article date:
- December 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Townsend Letter Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Artemisinin, the key ingredient obtained from Artemisia annua, has a long history of use as an antimalarial remedy. Artemisia annua, or "sweet wormwood," is mentioned in the Recipes For 52 Kinds Of Diseases found in the Mawangdui Han Dynasty tomb, dating from 168 BC In that work, the herb is recommended for use for hemorrhoids. It is also mentioned in the Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang (Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments) written in 340 A. D. The major active principal was first isolated in 1972, and investigators at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research located and crystallized the active component in 1984. (1)
Artemisinin and two synthetic ...