Artemisinin
Artemisinina contra la malaria
- Date
- 1971-1972 · confidence high
- Place
- China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
- Credited to
- Tu Youyou and Project 523
- People
- 👤 Tu Youyou1930–
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
Inspired by Ge Hong's text, Tu Youyou used low-temperature ether extraction to isolate the active compound of Artemisia annua, effective against chloroquine-resistant malaria. Artemisinin combination therapies are now the world standard.
A secret military project from 1967; the chemical structure was determined in 1975-1977.
What it led to
- WHO-recommended artemisinin combination therapies (ACT)
- millions of malaria deaths averted
- 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine