Perspectives of the Artemisia annua Dry Leaf Therapy (ALT) for Malaria and of its Re-Purposement as An Affordable Cure for ArtemisininTreatable Illnesses

  • Richa Goel
  • Raj Kumari
  • Vijender Singh
  • Renu Kumari
  • Suchi Srivastava
  • Sushil Kumar NIPGR, New Delhi
Keywords: Antimalarial Drug-Resistance; Antimalarial Pharmaceuticals; Auto-Immune Diseases; Cancers; Infectious Diseases; Non-Artemisinic Secondary Metabolites.

Abstract

Malarial diseases continue to risk the lives of more than 3 billion people in 97 countries, causing sickness in several million people and death to half a million patients. The preponderate malaria causing apicomplexan protozoan parasite species Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have become genetically resistant to most of the approved antimalarial drugs, including the artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). At this time, there is vigorous effort to meet the challenge of multi-drug resistant malaria by (a) speeding up the trials in progress on relatively more effective, new and mechanistically different antimalarial pharmaceuticals, (b) production of effective vaccines against falciparum and vivax malaria, (c) devising of new ways to use the presently available antimalarials such as by using three-drugs ACTs and by using the different two-drug and three-drug ACTs sequentially, and (d) induction of Artemisia annua dry leaf therapy (ALT) of recent origin, but of ancient precedent, as a  treatment of acute and complicated malaria. Here, a perspective type review is presented of the: pre-ALT antimalarial drugs, methodology of their usage and consequences of resistance development; safety, efficacy, affordability, quality maintenance and resilience to resistance development aspects of ALT; and possibilities of ALT repurposement for treating many infectious- metabolic disorder related- and cancerous- diseases. In conclusion an urgent need is emphasized for pilot studies and clinical trials on ALT to attest its deployment as antimalarial and cure of diseases beyond malaria.

References

Abraham G (2017) Malaria in pregnancy: is artemisinin based
treatment safe Evidence based Med 15 63-65
Abolaji G T, Olooto F M and Williams F E (2016) Development
of value added tea bags and capsules of Artemisia Annua
Anamed (A3) whole plant for malaria treatment Agrosearch
16 69-73
Achan J, Talisuna A O, Erhart A, Yeka A, Tibenderana J K, et al.
(2011) Quinine, an old anti-malarial drug in a modern world:
role in the treatment of malaria Malar J 10 144
Achan J, Tibenderana J K, Kyabayinze D, Wabwire Mangen F,
Kamya M R, et al. (2009) Effectiveness of quinine versus
artemether-lumefantrine for treating uncomplicated
falciparum malaria in Ugandan children: randomised trial
BMJ 339 b2763-b2763
Agarwal A, McMorrow M, Onyango P, Otieno K, Odero C, et
al. (2013) A randomized trial of artemether-lumefantrine
and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in the treatment of
uncomplicated malaria among children in western Kenya
Malar J 12 254
Agarwal M, Bhowmick K, Shah K, Krishnamachari A and Dhar S
K (2017) Identification and characterization of ARS-like
sequences as putative origin(s) of replication in human
malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum FEBS J 284 2674-
2695
Akande F and Fagbemi B (2011) In vivo and in vitro effects of
artemisinin group of drugs on trypanosomosis in mice J
Nat Sci Eng Tech 10 73-80..
Published
2018-07-09
Section
Research Papers

Most read articles by the same author(s)