Table Of ContentArtemisia annua
Prospects, Applications and
Therapeutic Uses
Artemisia annua
Prospects, Applications and
Therapeutic Uses
Edited by
Tariq Aftab
M. Naeem
M. Masroor A. Khan
CRC Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Aftab, Tariq, author.
Title: Artemisia annua : prospects, applications and therapeutic uses /
Tariq Aftab, M. Naeem, and M. Masroor A. Khan.
Description: Boca Raton : Taylor & Francis, 2018. | “A CRC title, part of the
Taylor & Francis imprint, a member of the Taylor & Francis Group, the
academic division of T&F Informa plc.” | Includes bibliographical
references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017034216 | ISBN 9781138632103 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Artemisinin--Therapeutic use. | Artemisia annua.
Classification: LCC RC159.A7 A38 2018 | DDC 616.9/362061--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017034216
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Contents
Preface......................................................................................................................vii
About the Editors ......................................................................................................ix
Contributors ..............................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1
Diverse Biologies and Experiential Continuities: A Physiognomic Reading of
the Many Faces of Malaria in the Chinese Materia Medica .....................................1
Elisabeth Hsu
Chapter 2
Artemisia annua and Grassroots Responses to Health Crises in Rural Tanzania ...17
Caroline Meier zu Biesen
Chapter 3
Use of Artemisia annua L. in the Treatment of Diseases—An Update ..................41
M. Naeem, Tariq Aftab, Asfia Shabbir, and M. Masroor A. Khan
Chapter 4
Current Perspectives and Future Prospects in the Use of Artemisia annua for
Pharmacological and Agricultural Purposes ...........................................................57
Ebiamadon Andi Brisibe
Chapter 5
Artemisia annua and Its Bioactive Compounds as Anti-Inflammatory Agents ......83
Bianca Ivanescu and Andreia Corciova
Chapter 6
Biosynthetic Pathway of Artemisinin ....................................................................115
Bushra Hafeez Kiani
Chapter 7
Cultivation of Artemisia annua—The Environmental Perspective .......................131
Karina Knudsmark Sjøholm (nee Jessing), Bjarne W. Strobel,
and Nina Cedergreen
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vi Contents
Chapter 8
Therapeutics of Artemisia annua: Current Trends ................................................155
Shilpi Paul
Chapter 9
Various Applications of Artemisia Annua L. (Qinghao) .......................................183
Himanshu Misra, Mauji Ram, Ashish Bharillya, Darshana Mehta,
Bhupendra Kumar Mehta, and Dharam Chand Jain
Chapter 10
Impact of Integrated Omics Technologies for Identification of Key Genes and
Enhanced Artemisinin Production in Artemisia annua L. ....................................221
Shashi Pandey-Rai, Neha Pandey, Anjana Kumari, Deepika Tripathi,
and Sanjay Kumar Rai
Chapter 11
Engineering the Plant Cell Factory for Artemisinin Production ...........................245
Mauji Ram, Himanshu Misra, Ashish Bharillya, and Dharam Chand Jain
Chapter 12
Use of Nanocarriers to Enhance Artemisinin Activity .........................................271
Anna Rita Bilia
Chapter 13
In Situ Cultivation of Artemisia annua ..................................................................295
Salisu Muhammad Tahir
Chapter 14
Mode of Action of Artemisinin: An Update ..........................................................323
Athar Ali, Abdul Qadir, Mather Ali Khan, Parul Saxena, and
Malik Zainul Abdin
Index ......................................................................................................................335
Preface
Internationally, scientists are making unstinted efforts to improve the under-
standing of malarial biology and to develop more effective malaria treatments.
Malaria remained the major scourge of mankind until the Chinese introduced arte-
misinin to the world as a remedy. The antimalarial drug artemisinin was discovered
by Tu Youyou, a Chinese scientist, who was awarded half of the 2015 Nobel Prize
in Medicine for her discovery. Since the discovery of artemisinin, treatments con-
taining artemisinin derivatives (artemisinin combination therapies, or ACTs), have
been standardized for the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria worldwide.
Artemisinin is certainly one of the most promising natural products investigated
in the past couple of decades. The plant has potent therapeutic potential beyond its
antimalarial activity, including anticancer, immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory,
antihypertensive, antioxidative, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and antiviral activities.
However, artemisinin-derived drugs are not available to millions of the world’s poor-
est people because of the low yield (0.1%–0.5% of dry weight) of artemisinin in
naturally grown Artemisia plants. The present demand for artemisinin far outstrips
supply; therefore, researchers around the world are working toward improving the
artemisinin content of the plant by various means.
The editors’ efforts, in the form of this comprehensive volume, detail recent
updates to the applications, current research, and future prospects of Artemisia
annua. Since the intact plant contains artemisinin in very low concentrations, its
commercial extraction requires huge amounts of plant biomass to be processed.
Massive demand and low yield of artemisinin from the plant has led to exploration
of alternative means of production, including the cultivation of A. annua on scien-
tific lines. Considering the significant benefits of various properties of the plant to
human health, we present this exclusive volume entitled Artemisia annua: Prospects,
Applications and Therapeutic Uses. As per the rationale, this volume focuses on
various scientific approaches, namely, agricultural, pharmacological, and pharma-
ceutical aspects, in vitro technology, and nutrient management strategies, as well as
omics technologies for the regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis in A. annua. The
book also contains a plethora of information about various scientific approaches to
the cultivation of this medicinal plant. Also, it includes information about the plant’s
survival under conditions of environmental stress.
The book comprises 14 chapters, most of them being reviewed articles written
by experts from around the globe. We are hopeful that this volume will meet the
needs of all researchers who are working or have interest in this particular field.
Undoubtedly, this book will be helpful to research students, teachers, ethnobotanists,
oncologists, pharmacologists, herbal growers, and anyone else with an interest in
this plant of paramount importance.
We are greatly thankful to the CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, for their
expeditious acceptance and compilation of this scientific work. Sincere thanks are
expressed to the team members of the Taylor & Francis Group for their dedication,
sincerity, and friendly cooperation in producing this volume. With great pleasure, we
vii
viii PrefaCe
extend our sincere thanks to all the contributors for their timely response, outstand-
ing and up-to-date research contributions, support, and consistent patience.
Lastly, thanks are also due to the well-wishers, research students, and authors’
family members for their moral support, blessings, and inspiration in the compila-
tion of this book.
Tariq Aftab
M. Naeem
M. Masroor A. Khan
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
About the Editors
Tariq Aftab received his PhD from the Department of
Botany at Aligarh Muslim University, India, and is currently
an assistant professor there. He is the recipient of the pres-
tigious Leibniz-DAAD Fellowship from Germany, Raman
Fellowship from the Government of India, and Young Scientist
Awards from the State Government of Uttar Pradesh (India)
and Government of India. He has worked as a visiting sci-
entist at IPK, Gaterleben, Germany, and in the Department
of Plant Biology at Michigan State University, United States.
He is also a member of various scientific associations in India
and abroad. He has published research articles in several peer-reviewed national
and international journals and is the lead editor of the book Artemisia annua:
Pharmacology and Biotechnology. His research interests include physiological, pro-
teomic, and molecular studies on medicinal and aromatic plants.
M. Naeem is an assistant professor in the Department of
Botany at Aligarh Muslim University, India. For more than a
decade, he has devoted his research to improving the yield and
quality of commercially important medicinal and aromatic
plants (MAPs). His research focuses on escalating the produc-
tion of MAPs and their active principles using a novel and
safe technique involving radiation-processed polysaccharides
(RPPs) as well as the application of potent plant growth regu-
lators (PGRs). To date, he has successfully run three major
research projects as principal investigator, two of which were
sanctioned by the Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi, while another
was awarded by the Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow.
Dr. Naeem has published 7 books and more than 80 research papers in reputable
national and international journals. He has also participated in various national
and international conferences and acquired life memberships to various scientific
bodies in India and abroad. Based on his research contributions, Dr. Naeem has
been awarded a Research Associateship from the Council of Scientific & Industrial
Research, New Delhi; a Young Scientist Award (2011) from the State Government of
Uttar Pradesh; a Fast Track Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science
& Technology, India; a Young Scientist of the Year Award (2015) from the Scientific
and Environmental Research Institute, Kolkata; a Rashtriya Gaurav Award (2016)
from the International Friendship Society, New Delhi; and a Distinguished Young
Scientist of the Year Award (2016) from the International Foundation for Environment
and Ecology, Kolkata.
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