We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Health

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

How Effective Is Artemisinin for Malaria?

By Rebecca Harkin
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 7,012
Share

Artemisinin works quickly, is well-tolerated, with very few side effects, and is available for distribution in many different forms to treat malaria. Artemisinin-based combination therapies or the use of artemisinin with other anti-malaria drugs has also shown to somewhat diminish the development of drug-resistant strains of the parasite that causes malaria. Typically, an improvement of malaria symptoms is observed within 12 hours of the first dose of artemisinin. This is an important advantage for more severe cases of malaria, or in situations where the patient has been suffering for an extensive time and the malaria symptoms have ravaged the body.

Another advantage of using artemisinin for malaria is that this drug is estimated to have a cure rate of between 80 and 98 percent. This is a very high success rate for an anti-malaria drug. Artemisinin also has very few side effects and does not appear to have a long-lasting toxic impact on the patient. In fact, the most common side effects are short-lived and include only headaches, nausea and dizziness.

Artemisinin for malaria can also be distributed and administered in a diverse number of ways. This drug can be provided as an intramuscular injection, a pill and as a powder. The availability of these different distribution methods makes it easier to place this medication in remote clinics where malaria is a severe problem. In many clinics, syringes needed for an intramuscular injection may be scarce or unavailable. This makes the availability of the pill and powder forms of artemisinin essential for delivery of the drug.

One of the most difficult problems in the battle against malaria is the emergence of drug-resistant strains that reduce the efficacy of drugs. Using artemisinin for malaria, in combination with other anti-malaria drugs, seems to slow and even, in many situations, prevent the development of malaria strains that are resistant to the medications used to combat this disease. This is an important advantage in the war on malaria.

A disadvantage of using artemisinin for malaria is that this drug is expensive. When compared with other anti-malaria drugs, artemisinin is about ten times more expensive. The high cost of this drug has created a problem with ineffective, counterfeit, black market doses becoming available.

Malaria is a disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium and results in an elevated fever, chills, and anemia. There are several theories about how artemisinin for malaria works. The most widely-accepted theory is that this drug is able to disrupt the actions of the parasites’ sub-cellular structures, the mitochondrion and endoplasmic reticulum. This prevents the cells from producing the essential energy-producing enzyme, ATPase. In essence, artemisinin starves the parasite of energy.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/how-effective-is-artemisinin-for-malaria.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.