New perspectives of the Artemisia annua bioactive compounds as an affordable cure in treatment of malaria and cancer

Abstract

Artemisia annua, a herbaceous medicinal plant is the only commercial and economical source of the sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin, which is currently represented as the starting point for an unprecedented discovery in the treatment of cerebral malaria fever worldwide. Artemisinin and its derivatives are the best antimalarial therapeutics presently delivered as artemisinin combination therapy Beyond the therapeutic value as an antiparasitic agent against Plasmodium parasites, the compound artemisinin along with Artemisia leaf flavonoids has the potential of an anticancerous agent. Although this bioactive unique compound artemisinin is a major component synthesized and accumulated in the herbal parts of plants, various leaf flavonoids of this plant also have a variety of specific biological activities that can synergize the effects of artemisinin against malaria and cancer. Cancer cells concentrate iron for use in cellular division similar to the malaria parasite, which also collects higher concentrations of iron than the normal cells, and the peroxide of artemisinin “breaks” this iron, which is immediately transformed into two very aggressive free radicals that can kill the affected cell rapidly. The combination of dihydroartemisinin with ferrous sulfate has been reported to reduce tumor growth. Therefore, iron is often administered several hours before artemisinin to enhance targeting of the cancer cells while sparing normal cells. In this chapter, antimalarial, immunosuppressive, and antiinflammatory properties of this plant are presented using the published information as an affordable medicine in the treatment of malaria and cancer. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.