Artemisinin: the gifts from traditional Chinese medicine not only for malaria control but also for schistosomiasis control

Abstract

The 2011 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award honors the Chinese scientist Tu Youyou who discovered artemisinin and its utility for treating malaria. A therapy based on artemisinin has saved millions of lives across the globe, especially in the developing world. Meanwhile, artemisinin and its derivatives, especially for artemether and artesunate, are showing promising preventive efficacies as high as 65-97% administrated with multiple doses at 6 mg/kg body weight by 1- or 2-week intervals for preventing schistosomiasis japonica during epidemic seasons used in China for more than one decade. So, we would like to say, to our excitement, artemisinin and its derivatives are the gifts from traditional Chinese medicine not only for malaria control but also for schistosomiasis control.