Chapter 15Artemisinin: A Potent Antimalarial Drug
Alok Malaviya1*, Karan Malhotra2, Anil Agarwal1 and Katherine Saikia3
1Department of Chemistry, CHRIST (Deemed To Be University), Hosur Road, Bengaluru, (India)
2National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, (India)
3Department of Life Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed To Be University), Hosur Road, Bengaluru, (India)
*Corresponding author: alokkumar.malaviya@christuniversity.in
Abstract
Artemisinin is known to be a potent antimalarial drug which is naturally obtained from the plant Artemisia annua L. Malaria is a global health problem with nearly 1.2 billion people at high risk. In 2001, WHO recognised artemisinin based combination therapies (ACTs), as the frontline drugs to fight against malaria and therefore, artemisinin is the most effective anti-malarial drug. It appears to be a safe drug with no adverse reactions or noticeable side effects, even for pregnant women. However, access to ACTs by malarial patients, especially in poor countries, is inadequate due to high volatility in price, unpredictable demand and low yield from A. annua. The huge gap in demand and supply has motivated researchers to explore artemisinin production in alternative systems like bacteria, yeast and tobacco. Scientists have been successful in producing this wonder molecule in heterologous hosts. Challenges associated with large-scale production and drug resistance against artemisinin ...
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