A HITHERTO unknown but vital weakness in the malaria parasite has been exposed by studying extracts from ancient Chinese anti-fever remedies. The discovery opens a new front in the fight against the parasite, which has become resistant in most parts of the world to the most common anti-malarial drug, chloroquine.
Derived from the Chinese herb qinghao, or sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), the extracts have already helped millions of patients in south-east Asia who would otherwise have suffered or died when conventional drugs failed (Â鶹´«Ã½, 13 July 1996, p 4). Now researchers have discovered how the drugs, called artemisinins,…
