Artemisinin is the most recent anti-malaria drug developed from plant-based traditional medicine. It is isolated from the leaves and flowers of Artemisia annual. (Compositae), commonly known as the sweet wormwood, a cousin of tarragon. Indigenous to China, the extract of this plant is traditionally known as the Qing Hao. It has been used to treat malaria in China for over 2000 years. Its active component, Artemisinin, was first isolated in 1970s by Chinese scientists. Unlike Quinine and Chloroquine, this compound is non-toxic rapid in effect, and safe for pregnant women. Furthermore, it is effective against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria and in patients with cerebral malaria. It kills the parasites directly so parasitemia is quickly controlled. This work was confirmed by WHO in Africa and other parts of Southeast Asia.

    Artemisinin is an endoperoxide of the sesquiterpene lactone. The structure of this compound is too complex to be synthesized effectively. Artemisia is also found in many parts of the U.S., abundantly along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., but the drug content of these varieties is only about half that of the Chinese variety, Currently, the WHO and the U.S. are jointly engaged in the cultivation of Chinese Artemisia for worldwide use. This recent development offers renewed hope for using traditional medicine to provide new drugs for future medicines. 

    近年來，從傳統(tǒng)草本藥物中提煉出來的青蒿素成為抗瘧疾的常用藥物。它是一種從青蒿屬植物中分離出來的藥物。青蒿屬植物亦屬于菊科，人們通常就把它稱之為青蒿，是龍蒿的同類。 在中國，此類植物的提煉物傳統(tǒng)上也被稱為青蒿。 它在中國被用來治療瘧疾已有兩千多年歷史。 青蒿的活性成分，也就是青蒿素也是由中國科學(xué)家在二十世紀(jì)七十年代首次分離出來的。 這種物質(zhì)不像奎寧和氯喹，它是無毒的，而且見效快，孕婦使用也很安全。 不僅如此，在對抗抗氯喹的惡性瘧原蟲瘧疾以及治療腦瘧疾患者上使用此藥，效果也很顯著。 它可以直接有效的殺死寄生蟲從而迅速控制寄生蟲血癥。 世界衛(wèi)生組織已經(jīng)在非洲和東南亞部分地區(qū)驗(yàn)證并確認(rèn)了其控制寄生蟲血癥的效果。

    青蒿素是倍半萜烯的一種內(nèi)過氧化物， 這種物質(zhì)由于其極復(fù)雜的結(jié)構(gòu)，因此很難被有效合成。 雖然在美國許多地區(qū)尤其是華盛頓特區(qū)的波多馬克河岸也生長著大量艾屬植物，但是其藥物成分只有中國艾屬植物的一半。因此，目前世界衛(wèi)生組織和美國正聯(lián)手致力于中國艾屬植物的培育，使其早日在世界范圍內(nèi)被廣泛應(yīng)用。 近來的研究成果給未來醫(yī)藥使用傳統(tǒng)藥物作為新藥補(bǔ)給重新帶來了希望。