• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.106-109
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• 1992

To investigate the biosynthetic pathway leading to artemisinin, the putative precursors, arteannuic acid and 11,12-dihydroarteannuic acid, were incubated in a cell-free system. For the experiment with dihydroarteannuic acid, artemisinin was generated in tumor homogenate. These results showed that dihydroarteannuic acid could be converted to artemisinin enzymatically. However, the experimental condition failed to convert arteannuic acid into 11,12-dihydroarteannuic acid.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.123-130
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• 1995

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is isolated from the leafy portion of the Artemisia annua and has been known to be effective against Plasmodium species. Since the genera of Plasmodium and Eimeria(E) tenella are included the same order, Eucoccidiidae, it is presumed that artemisinin may also be effective against E tenella. In order to study the anticoccididal effects of artemisinin, the chickens inoculated with E tenella were treated with artemisinin at different concentrations as feed additive and the results were compared to those of non-medicated, infected control(NIC) and non-medicated, non-infected control(NNC) group. Artemisinin demonstrated anticoccidial effects by showing, compared to NIC group, improved results in all parameters, such as bloody diarrhea, lesion scores, the numbers of excreted oocystis in feces, body weight gain and feed conversion rate. Anticoccidial index(ACI) of artemisinin treated group (5ppm~50ppm) was higher than that of NIC group. Improvements were greatest in the group treated with artemisinin 50ppm with an ACI of 147.6. These results indicate that artemisinin has anticoccidial effects on the Eimeria tenella.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.184-189
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• 2023

Normal activation of platelets and their aggregation are crucial during hemostasis process. It appears excessive or abnormal aggregation of platelets may bring about cardiovascular diseases like stroke, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. For this reason, finding a substance that can regulate platelet aggregation or suppress aggregation will aid in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Artemisinin, a compound derived from Artemisia or Scopolia plants, has shown potential in various areas such as anticancer and Alzheimer's disease research. However, the specific role and mechanisms by which artemisinin influences platelet activation and thrombus formation are not yet fully understood. This study investigated the effects of artemisinin on platelet activation and thrombus formation. This study examined the effect of artemisinin on regulation of U46619-induced platelet aggregation, granule secretion. In addition, the effects of artemisinin on phosphorylation of PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathway involved in platelet aggregation was studied. As a result, artemisinin significantly downregulated of PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathway. In addition, artemisinin significantly reduced granule secretion, and platelet aggregation was inhibited by artemisinin. Therefore, we suggest that artemisinin is an anti-platelet substance that regulates PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathway and is valuable as a therapeutic and preventive agent for platelet-derived cardiovascular disease.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.402-407
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• 2023

The regulation of platelet aggregation is crucial for maintaining normal hemostasis, but abnormal or excessive platelet aggregation can contribute to cardiovascular disorders such as stroke, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. Therefore, identifying substances that can control or suppress platelet aggregation is a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of these conditions. Artemisinin, a compound derived from Artemisia or Scopolia plants, has shown potential in various areas such as anticancer and Alzheimer's disease research. However, the specific role and mechanisms by which artemisinin influences platelet activation and thrombus formation are not yet fully understood. This study investigated the effects of artemisinin on platelet activation and thrombus formation. As a result, cAMP production were increased significantly by artemisinin, as well as phosphorylated VASP and IP₃R which are substrates to cAMP-dependent kinase by artemisinin in a significant manner. The Ca²⁺ normally mobilized from the dense tubular system was inhibited due to IP₃R phosphorylation from artemisinin, and phosphorylated VASP by artemisinin aided in inhibiting platelet activity via αIIb/β3 platelet membrane inactivation and inhibiting fibrinogen binding. Finally, artemisinin inhibited thrombin-induced thrombus formation. Therefore, we suggest that artemisinin has importance with cardiovascular diseases stemming from the abnormal platelets activation and thrombus formation by acting as an effective prophylactic and therapeutic agent.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.307-315
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• 2022

Artemisinin is a secondary metabolite of Artemisia annua that shows potent anti-malarial, anti-bacterial, antiviral, and anti-tumor effects. The supply of artemisinin depends on its content in Artemisia annua, in which various environmental factors can affect the plant's biosynthetic yield. In this study, the effects of different light-emitting diode (LED)-irradiation conditions were tested to optimize the germination and growth of Artemisia annua for the enhanced production of artemisinin. Specifically, the ratio between the red and blue lights in the irradiating LED was varied for investigation as follows: [Red : Blue] = [6 : 4], [7 : 3], and [8 : 2]. Furthermore, additional stress factors like UV-B-irradiation (1,395 ㎼/cm²), low temperature (4℃), and dehydration were also explored to induce hormetic expressions of ADS, CYP, and ALDH1, which are essential genes for the biosynthesis of artemisinin. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the expression levels of the respective genes and their correlation with the specified conditions. [8 : 2] LED-irradiation was the most optimal among the tested conditions for the cultivation of Artemisia annua in terms of both fresh and dry weights post-harvest. For the production of artemisinin, however, [7 : 3] LED-irradiation with dehydration for six hours pre-harvest was the most optimal condition by inducing around twofold enhancement in the biosynthetic yield of artemisinin. As expected, a correlation was observed between the expression levels of the genes and the contents of artemisinin accumulated.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1386-1390
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• 2008

Artemisinin, the effective ingredient of Chinese herb Artemisia annua L (Qinghao in Chinese), has been proved to be effective to antimalarial. Herein, a reliable, sensitive and convenient electrochemical method was developed for the determination of artemisinin utilizing the excellent properties of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT). The electrochemical behavior of artemisinin was investigated. It is found that the reduction peak current of artemisinin remarkably increases and the peak potential shifts positively by 240 mV at the MWNT film-modified electrode. These phenomena indicate that the MWNT film exhibits efficient catalytic activity to the electrochemical reduction of artemisinin. The effects of pH value, amount of MWNT, scan rate and accumulation time were examined. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) is as low as 10 $\mu$ g $L^{-1}$. Finally, this newly developed method was used to determine the content of artemisinin in Artemisia annua L.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.661-665
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• 2017

We synthesized C-10 substituted triazolyl artemisinins by the Huisgen cycloaddition reaction between dihydroartemisinins (2) and variously substituted 1, 2, 3-triazoles (8a-8h). The antimalarial activities of 32 novel artemisinin derivatives were screened against a chloroquine-resistant parasite. Among them, triazolyl artemisinins with electron-withdrawing groups showed stronger antimalarial activities than those shown by the derivatives having electron-donating groups. In particularly, m-chlorotriazolyl artemisinin (9d-12d) showed antimalarial activity equivalent to that of artemisinin and could be a strong drug candidate.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2006

Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP), also known as histamine releasing factor (HRF), is found abundantly in different eukaryotic cell types. The sequence homology of TCTP between different species is very high, belonging to the MSS4/DSS4 superfamily of proteins. TCTP is involved in both cell growth and human late allergy reaction, as well as having a calcium binding property; however, its primary biological functions remain to be clearly elucidated. In regard to many possible functions, the TCTP of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) is known to bind with an antimalarial agent, artemisinin, which is activated by heme. It is assumed that the endoperoxide-bridge of artemisinin is opened up by heme to form a free radical, which then eventually alkylates, probably to the Cys14 of PfTCTP. Study of the docking of artemisinin with heme, and subsequently with PfTCTP, was carried out to verify the above hypothesis on the basis of structural interactions. The three dimensional (3D) structure of PfTCTP was built by homology modeling, using the NMR structure of the TCTP of Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a template. The quality of the model was examined based on its secondary structure and biological function, as well as with the use of structure evaluating programs. The interactions between artemisinin, heme and PfTCTP were then studied using the docking program, FlexiDock. The center of the peroxide bond of artemisinin and the Fe of heme were docked within a short distance of $2.6{\AA}$, implying the strong possibility of an interaction between the two molecules, as proposed. When the activated form of artemisinin was docked on the PfTCTP, the C4-radical of the drug faced towards the sulfur of Cys14 within a distance of $2.48{\AA}$, again suggesting the possibility of alkylation having occurred. These results confirm the proposed mechanism of the antimalarial effect of artemisinin, which will provide a reliable method for establishing the mechanism of its biological activity using a molecular modeling study.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.160-167
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• 2019

Background: Pain is a complex mechanism which involves different systems, including the opioidergic and GABAergic systems. Due to the side effects of chemical analgesic agents, attention toward natural agents have been increased. Artemisinin is an herbal compound with widespread modern and traditional therapeutic indications, which its interaction with the GABAergic system and antinoniceptive effects on neuropathic pain have shown. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the antinociceptive effects of artemisinin during inflammatory pain and interaction with the GABAergic and opioidergic systems by using a writhing response test. Methods: On the whole, 198 adult male albino mice were used in 4 experiments, including 9 groups (n = 6) each with three replicates, by intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of artemisinin (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg), naloxone (2 mg/kg), bicuculline (2 mg/kg), saclofen (2 mg/kg), indomethacin (5 mg/kg), and ethanol (10 mL/kg). Writhing test responses were induced by i.p. injection of 10 mL/kg of 0.6% acetic acid, and the percentage of writhing inhibition was recorded. Results: Results showed significant dose dependent anti-nociceptive effects from artemisinin which, at a 10 mg/kg dose, was statistically similar to indomethacin. Neither saclofen nor naloxone had antinociceptive effects and did not antagonize antinociceptive effects of artemisinin, whereas bicuculline significantly inhibited the antinocicptive effect of artemisinin. Conclusions: It seems that antinocicptive effects of artemisinin are mediated by $GABA_A$ receptors.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.335-336
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• 1996

Artemisinin, a new antimalarial to treat patients infected with strains of Plasmodium jalciparum, derived from the plant Artemisia annua Linn, has immunopharmacologic actions such as enhence the PHA -induced lymphocyte transformation rate, increased the weight of spleen but reduced the weight of thymus, reduced phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophage, remarkably reduced the level of serum IgG and hemolysin fonning capacity (sentitized with SRBC), inhibited the activity of Ts cells of donor mice by supraoptimal immunuization(SOI), but enhenced activity of Ts cells of recipient mice by SOI. These results suggested that Ts cells may be the target cells of artemisinin. To the serum complement C3 level of plasmodium berghei-infeted mice, artemisinin (i. m,) could remarkly increase it. The artemisinin also obviously reduced the prostaglandin E(PGE) in the mouse hind paw swelling induced by carrageenin. Numerous studies have demonstrated that pharmacologic doses of PGE attenuate the development of immunocomplex nephritis. Some autologous immune mechanisms may be invoolved In the pathogensis of some types of glomurulonephritis. Glomerular abnormalities can be induced in animals by variety of immunological manipulations. The resulting disorder has many clinical and pathogical similarities to the disease in human. Our purpose was therefore to test the ability of the artemisinin to lessen the severity of rabbit IgG accelerated nephrotoxic serum glomerulonephritis in mice model. Mice which had treated with rabbit IgG and NTS, administrated with saline, showed Significant inceases of urinary protein, cholesterol level, and decrease of serum albumin in NS group. On the contrary, By i.g. adminstration of artemisinin at dose of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg for 14 days after NTS injection, shown that artemisinin inhibited the nephritic changes in some parameters by means of urinary protein(p<0.05, p<0.01) and serum choleterol(p<0.05, p<0.01) and albumin (p<0.05, p<0.01), blood urea nitrogen (p<0.05, p<0.01), serum albumin(p<0.05, p<0.01); Cyclophosphamide(i.p. 10mg/kg for 14d) had almost same effect as the artemisinin had. Morphological studies shown that The picture of kidney from the mouse with NTS-nephritis accerated with rabbit IgG, treated with i.g. saline as the control, the mesangiocapillary were enlarged and proliferated; There were inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli; The ethelial cell were proliferated in the wall of Bowman's capsule. Histopatholological picture of kidney from the NTS-nephritis accerated with rabbit IgG mouse treated with i.p. 10mg/kg cyclophosphamide as the positive control. No siginicant histopathological evidence were found. Treaded with i.p. 12.5mg/kg artemisinine, the picture shown that mesangiocapillary were lightly proliferated; There were inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli; Treaded with i.p. 25mg/kg artemisinine, The picture shown that the mesangiocapillary were lightly proliferated; Treaded with i.p. 50mg/kg artemisinine, The picture shown that both the mesangiocapillary proliferated and the inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli are less than treated with saline, 12.5 and 25 mg/kg artemisinine. On the basis of these studies we conclude that the artemisinin can relieve pathological change caused by NTS-nephritis aacerated with rabbit IgG.