BIOCONVERSION OF ARTEANNUIN-B TO ARTEMISININ

Arteannuin B, which co-occurs with artemisinin, the potent antimalaria l principle of the Chinese medicinal herb Artemisia annua (Asteraceae) , has been converted to the latter using crude and semi-purified cell- free extracts of the leaf homogenates of the plant. Detection procedur es to quantitate this bioconversion, including one that is novel which uses gc-ms, are detailed.