ABSTRACT
Malaria is an ancient infectious disease that threatens millions of lives globally even today. The discovery of artemisinin, inspired by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has brought in a paradigm shift and been recognized as the "best hope for the treatment of malaria" by World Health Organization. With its high potency and low toxicity, the wide use of artemisinin effectively treats the otherwise drug-resistant parasites and helps many countries, including China, to eventually eradicate malaria. Here, we will first review the initial discovery of artemisinin, an extraordinary journey that was in stark contrast with many drugs in western medicine. We will then discuss how artemisinin and its derivatives could be repurposed to treat cancer, inflammation, immunoregulation-related diseases, and COVID-19. Finally, we will discuss the implications of the "artemisinin story" and how that can better guide the development of TCM today. We believe that artemisinin is just a starting point and TCM will play an even bigger role in healthcare in the 21st century.
Subject(s)
Artemisinins , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Neoplasms , Artemisinins/pharmacology , Artemisinins/therapeutic use , Drug Repositioning , Humans , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Neoplasms/drug therapyABSTRACT
Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have demonstrated in vitro inhibition of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Artemisinins have also shown anti-inflammatory effects, including inhibition of interleukin-6 (IL-6) that plays a key role in the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is now sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of ACTs, and in particular artesunate/pyronaridine, to support clinical studies for COVID-19 infections.