Original Articles
Pallavi Ahirrao*, Deepa Batra
Abstract
Artemisinin, known as Qinghaosu in China, is one of the constituents of quinhao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is known to possess antimalarial activity since centuries in China. Artemisinin constitutes the frontline treatment to aid rapid clearance of parasitaemia and quick resolution of malarial symptoms. Combination regimens that include artemisinin derivatives are recommended as first line antimalarials in most countries where malaria is endemic. Artemisinin possessed an unique chemical structure with an inter-peroxyl ketal-acetal-lactone consisting of –OO-C-O-C-O-C=O segment. In the present review article artemisinin as a potential antimalarial drug and a lead molecule is discussed by including its chemistry, mechanism of action, artemisinin derivatives and structure-activity relationship (SAR) study, and commercial production of artemisinin