STATE-OF-THE-ART OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE ANTIMALARIAL COMPOUND ARTEMISININ IN PLANTS

For more than three centuries we have relied on the extracts of the ba rk of Cinchona species to treat malaria. Now, it seems we may be chang ing to the leaves of a Chinese weed, Artemisia annua, and its active c ompound artemisinin. Artemisinin-derived drugs have been proved partic ularly effective treatments for severe malaria, even for multidrug-res istant malaria. However, this promising antimalarial compound remains expensive and is hardly available on a global scale. Therefore, many r esearch groups have directed their investigations toward the enhanceme nt of artemisinin production in A. annua cell cultures or whole plants in order to overproduce artemisinin or one of its precursors. This ar ticle provides a brief review of the state of art of the different asp ects in A. annua research.