Rk. Haynes et Sc. Vonwiller, EXTRACTION OF ARTEMISININ AND ARTEMISINIC ACID - PREPARATION OF ARTEMETHER AND NEW ANALOGS, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 88, 1994, pp. 23-26
Citations number
13
Categorie Soggetti
Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath","Tropical Medicine
The preparation of artemether from artemisinin is reviewed. Firstly, t
he extraction of artemisinin from Artemisia annua is described and an
estimation of the yield per hectare based on literature data is given.
Artemisinin is reduced with sodium borohydride to produce dihydroarte
misinin as a mixture of epimers. The mixture is treated with methanol
and an acid catalyst to provide artemether. Increasing demand for use
of artemether places pressure on the supply of artemisinin, and an alt
ernative means of preparing the drug from artemisinic acid, an abundan
t constituent of A. annua, which could triple current yields, is descr
ibed. In anticipation of problems of drug resistance emerging with the
continued use of artemether and artesunate to treat malaria, developm
ent of new derivatives of artemisinin which have enhanced stability is
required. Examples of such derivatives which have been prepared in ou
r laboratories, or proposed, are described.