ArtemisininArtemisinin

isolated from plant Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood

History

• 200 BC ： First recorded in the Fifty-two prescriptions found in Han Dynasty tomb

History

• 200 B.C. ： First recorded in the Fifty-two prescriptions found in Han Dynasty tomb

• 340 A.D.: Application for malaria first described in The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies

History

• 200 B.C. ： First recorded in the Fifty-two prescriptions found in Han Dynasty tomb

• 340 A.D.: The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies

• 1972: Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin in the leaves of Artemisia annua

Malaria

• Mosquito-borne disease caused by prostists of genus plasmodium

Malaria

• Mosquito-borne disease caused by Prostists of the genus of plasmodium

• Kills more than 600,000 people every year

- 90% of them are children

• Artemisinin and its derivatives are proofed effective against malaria caused by protist Plasmodium falciparum

• Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACTs) are now standard treatment worldwide for plasmodium falciparum malaria.

HOWEVER .......

• Supply of plant-derived artemisinin is highly unstable• $1-2.5/treatment. People in developing world cannot

afford the treatments

SO.......

A stable source of affordable artemisinin is required.

In 2006, Prossfer Jay D Keasling and his team reported that they had engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast to produce small amount of artemisinic acid which is the precursor of artemisinin and can be purified and chemically converted into artemisnin.

Current Process

Artemisinin

Purification

Chemical Conversion

Artemether Arteether Artesunate

Artemisia Annua

Artelinate

Microbial Process

Artemisinin Acid

Purification

Chemical Conversion

Artemether Arteether Artesunate

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Artelinate

References• http://i00.c.aliimg.com/img/ibank/2011/548/121/373121845_873535556.jpg• http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/392737864/Sweet_Wormwood_Oil.jpg• http://k.mengxiang.org/uploads/201205/1338259472ve23vDLh.jpg• http://res.news.ifeng.com/dci_2011/0920/re_4e783a52d5a0f.jpg• http://www.malariaconsortium.org/wide-banner/153.jpg• http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/04/25/mosquito-48fc799e70f6892f5c6708a44bfde3a63681f80b-s6-c30.jpg• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisinin• http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/PublicHealth/MicrobialThreats/2011-MAR-14/Keasling

%2003%2015%2011.pdf• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Malaria.jpg/230px-Malaria.jpg• http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/assets/images/2004/Mar-24/Keasling.jpg• http://disinfecto.com/images/artesunate.jpg• http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/artemisinin/artemisinic-acid.gif