The Search for Antimalarial Drugs and the Discovery of Artemisinin

作     者：LI Runhong ZHANG Daqing 黎润红;张大庆

作者机构：The School of Health HumanitiesPeking UniversityBeijing 100191China 

出 版 物：《Chinese Annals of History of Science and Technology》 (中国科学技术史（英文）)

年 卷 期：2020年第4卷第2期

页      面：73-134页

学科分类：100703[医学-生药学] 1007[医学-药学(可授医学、理学学位)] 10[医学] 

基　　金：Kunming Pharmaceutical Factory and Ning Dianxi Ministry of Chemical Industry State S&T Commission Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Ministry of Public Health, MOPH State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, SASTIND 

主　　题：antimalarial drugs artemisinin artemisinin-based compound drugs Tu Youyou 

摘      要：With its novel chemical structure, artemisinin is an antimalarial component isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine qinghao(Artemisia annua L.). Nowadays, artemisinin and its derivatives are used compatibly with new synthesized chemical antimalarial compounds to create artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs). These have become the first choice in treating malaria p.f. all over the world, providing an effective solution for the global challenge of curing drug-resistant malaria. Among the five ACTs recommended by the WHO, two were initiated in China and are used as the first-line treatment of falciparum malaria in all malaria endemic areas. As the use of artemisinin-based compound drugs have made such significant contributions to rolling back malaria, regarded as one of the great achievements globally in public health of the early twenty-first century, Tu Youyou, one of the most important researchers in the discovery of artemisinin, was made the first Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine from the Chinese mainland. Artemisinin was discovered in a special social and cultural context through a combination of the exploration of traditional Chinese medical literature with the modern research approach of pharmaceutical sciences. This(Project 523) is a typical case of goal-oriented research leading to scientific advance, and the result of scientific research driven by the national needs.