What does artemisinin mean?
Artemisinin is a naturally occurring chemical compound — specifically a sesquiterpene lactone — isolated from the leaves of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), a plant long used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the foundation of the most effective current treatments for malaria, especially infections caused by Plasmodium falciparum that have grown resistant to older drugs such as chloroquine. Because artemisinin acts rapidly but clears quickly from the body, it is usually administered as part of an 'artemisinin-based combination therapy,' pairing it with a second, longer-acting antimalarial drug. The isolation of artemisinin by Chinese scientist Tu Youyou in the early 1970s, drawing on ancient herbal texts, earned her a share of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and has been credited with saving millions of lives. In modern usage the word appears mainly in medical, pharmaceutical, and public-health contexts, and emerging artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia is a subject of serious global concern.
nounA sesquiterpene lactone compound extracted from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), used as the basis for the most effective modern treatments against malaria, particularly drug-resistant falciparum malaria.
- A sesquiterpene lactone antimalarial drug isolated from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua), used directly or as the chemical basis for derivatives such as artesunate and artemether.
"Artemisinin-based combination therapies are now the standard first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in most of the world."
"Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou isolated artemisinin from sweet wormwood during Project 523, earning her a share of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine."
"Farmers in East Africa now cultivate Artemisia annua on an industrial scale to supply the global demand for artemisinin."
Rarely pluralised; the word is normally uncountable when referring to the substance. Plural use appears chiefly in scientific literature referring collectively to distinct artemisinin compounds or derivatives.
"Several semisynthetic artemisinins, including artesunate and artemether, are now in widespread clinical use."
The compound that saved millions from malaria was found thanks to a 4th-century Chinese medical text and a secret military project — and its discoverer, Tu Youyou, won the Nobel Prize without ever holding a doctorate.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of artemisinin
The name artemisinin derives from Artemisia, the botanical genus of the plant from which it is extracted, itself named after the ancient Greek figure Artemis. The compound was isolated in China in the early 1970s by Tu Youyou's research team during the secret Project 523 antimalarial effort, and the Chinese name qinghaosu refers to qinghao, the sweet wormwood herb described in classical Chinese medical texts such as Ge Hong's 4th-century Zhouhou Beiji Fang. Related semisynthetic derivatives, including artesunate and artemether, were developed from artemisinin to improve its clinical properties.
Related word forms
How artemisinin is actually used
Artemisinin is a technical term used chiefly in medicine, pharmacology, and public-health writing. It is almost always discussed in connection with malaria treatment or the plant it derives from, and in clinical contexts it frequently appears within the phrase 'artemisinin-based combination therapy' (ACT).
Easily confused with artemisinin
Artemisia is the plant genus (wormwood) from which the drug is derived, while artemisinin is the specific chemical compound extracted from Artemisia annua.