This paper reviews the discovery of artemisinin,an antimalarial compound from an herbal plant that was awarded the Nobel Prize.The recognition has brought traditional Chinese medicine and science closer but traditiona...This paper reviews the discovery of artemisinin,an antimalarial compound from an herbal plant that was awarded the Nobel Prize.The recognition has brought traditional Chinese medicine and science closer but traditional Chinese medicine therapeutics are still poorly understood.The deployment of traditional Chinese medicine drugs with the support of medical science has contained the COVID-19 pandemic in China.But the success has not resulted in a global effort to study the Chinese therapies as the pandemic continues to rage across the Western world.The paper aims to draw more science into“Qi”and traditional Chinese medicine,and promote the scientific investigation of the functional efficacy of Chinese medicine and its treasure trove of materia medica.All these point to the imperative to update and consolidate traditional Chinese medicine diagnostics and therapeutics with medical science and technology to unlock traditional Chinese medicine’s potential.展开更多
With its novel chemical structure, artemisinin is an antimalarial component isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine qinghao(Artemisia annua L.). Nowadays, artemisinin and its derivatives are used compatibly wit...With its novel chemical structure, artemisinin is an antimalarial component isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine qinghao(Artemisia annua L.). Nowadays, artemisinin and its derivatives are used compatibly with new synthesized chemical antimalarial compounds to create artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs). These have become the first choice in treating malaria p.f. all over the world, providing an effective solution for the global challenge of curing drug-resistant malaria. Among the five ACTs recommended by the WHO, two were initiated in China and are used as the first-line treatment of falciparum malaria in all malaria endemic areas. As the use of artemisinin-based compound drugs have made such significant contributions to rolling back malaria, regarded as one of the great achievements globally in public health of the early twenty-first century, Tu Youyou, one of the most important researchers in the discovery of artemisinin, was made the first Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine from the Chinese mainland. Artemisinin was discovered in a special social and cultural context through a combination of the exploration of traditional Chinese medical literature with the modern research approach of pharmaceutical sciences. This(Project 523) is a typical case of goal-oriented research leading to scientific advance, and the result of scientific research driven by the national needs.展开更多
文摘This paper reviews the discovery of artemisinin,an antimalarial compound from an herbal plant that was awarded the Nobel Prize.The recognition has brought traditional Chinese medicine and science closer but traditional Chinese medicine therapeutics are still poorly understood.The deployment of traditional Chinese medicine drugs with the support of medical science has contained the COVID-19 pandemic in China.But the success has not resulted in a global effort to study the Chinese therapies as the pandemic continues to rage across the Western world.The paper aims to draw more science into“Qi”and traditional Chinese medicine,and promote the scientific investigation of the functional efficacy of Chinese medicine and its treasure trove of materia medica.All these point to the imperative to update and consolidate traditional Chinese medicine diagnostics and therapeutics with medical science and technology to unlock traditional Chinese medicine’s potential.
文摘With its novel chemical structure, artemisinin is an antimalarial component isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine qinghao(Artemisia annua L.). Nowadays, artemisinin and its derivatives are used compatibly with new synthesized chemical antimalarial compounds to create artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs). These have become the first choice in treating malaria p.f. all over the world, providing an effective solution for the global challenge of curing drug-resistant malaria. Among the five ACTs recommended by the WHO, two were initiated in China and are used as the first-line treatment of falciparum malaria in all malaria endemic areas. As the use of artemisinin-based compound drugs have made such significant contributions to rolling back malaria, regarded as one of the great achievements globally in public health of the early twenty-first century, Tu Youyou, one of the most important researchers in the discovery of artemisinin, was made the first Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine from the Chinese mainland. Artemisinin was discovered in a special social and cultural context through a combination of the exploration of traditional Chinese medical literature with the modern research approach of pharmaceutical sciences. This(Project 523) is a typical case of goal-oriented research leading to scientific advance, and the result of scientific research driven by the national needs.
