Artemisinin
Information about Artemisinin[edit source]
Artemisinin is an ancient Chinese herbal therapy for malarial fevers which has been recently found to have potent activity against many forms of malarial organisms, including chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Several artemisinin derivatives have been developed for clinical use in prevention and treatment of malaria, some of which have been linked to rare instances of acute liver injury.
Mechanism of action of Artemisinin[edit source]
The artemisinins (ar tem' is in in), including artesumate, arteeter, artemether, artemisinin, and dihydroartemisinin, are derivatives of the Chinese herb known as "qing hao" or sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua). The artemisinins have antimalarial activity in vitro and in vivo and are believed to act by release of free radicals into the parasite vacuoles. Artemisinin derivatives are currently the most active antimalarial drugs available and have been introduced around the world as an integral part of therapy of active malaria, always in combination with other antimalarials to prevent resistance such as amodiaquine, lumefantrine and mefloquine. Several oral and parenteral formulations of artemisinin derivatives are available worldwide. In the United States, the combination of artemether (20 mg) and lumefantrine (120 mg) was approved for therapy of P. falciparum malaria in 2009 under the brand name Coartem. The recommended dose for adults is 4 tablets twice daily for 3 days (6 doses). Artesunate (Adamsunate) is also available on a named-patient basis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Malaria Hotline (770-488-7788, M-F, 8 am to 4:30 pm, Eastern time). General recommendations on use of artemisinin and other antimalarial agents are available at the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/.
Side effects of Artemisinin[edit source]
Common side effects of artesunate include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and dizziness. Potentially severe adverse events include prolongation of the QTc interval and cardiac arrhythmias.
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The following links are to individual drug records.
- Artemisinin
- Amodiaquine
- Atovaquone
- Chloroquine
- Mefloquine
- Mepacrine
- Primaquine
- Proguanil
- Quinine
- Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine
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Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD
