A brief history of malaria chemotherapy

Abstract

Malaria is one of the worst sicknesses to affect humankind. For centuries there was no specific treatment, and it was not until the seventeenth century that Spanish colonisers brought back from Peru tree bark from which quinine was later extracted. In the twentieth century, synthetic alternatives to quinine were developed. Of these, chloroquine was the most successful, but by the 1970s widespread resistance had developed and the world was left without an effective treatment for malaria. During the same decade Chinese scientists extracted from sweet wormwood plant the drug artemisinin, which has proved to be very effective against chloroquine-resistant malarial parasites. The use of a combination therapy including artemisinin has made it possible to contemplate the eradication of malaria. Efforts to produce a stable and inexpensive supply of artemisinin are under way.

Post Marketing Surveillance of Anti-malarial Medicines in Tanzania

“…Malaria has killed many human beings more than any other disease and is still claiming millions of lives worldwide [1]. Nevertheless, the number of malaria cases and deaths reported have begun to fall down over years globally from an estimated 262 million in 2000 to 214 million in 2015, a decline of 18% [2].…”

Role of Traditional Antimalarial Plants in the Battle Against the Global Malaria Burden

“…In the 20 th century, synthetic alternatives to quinine were developed (Butler et al 2010). The discovery of chloroquine and its subsequent worldwide use against malaria in the 20 th century produced one of the greatest public health advances ever achieved by a drug against an infectious disease (Wellems 2002).…”

“…Unknown to the rest of the world, the Chinese government established a large research program to find a replacement for chloroquine (Li 2007). In 1967, more than 500 scientists from more than 60 institutions, including chemists, pharmacologists, medical entomologists, and doctors, were recruited by the Chinese government for the antimalaria drug project known as Project 523 (Butler et al 2010).…”

Antimalarial and Anti-hypoglycemic Properties of Siamese Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica) in Plasmodium berghei Infected Mice

“…Some antimalarial drugs in use today (quinine and artemisinin) were either obtained from plants or developed using their chemical structures as templates [10,11]. In Thailand, it is estimated that about 80% of the populations is still dependent on traditional medicine, which essentially involves the use of plants.…”