An in vitro study, published in the journal Life Science Alliance, presents several major findings regarding traditional infusions of Artemisia annua and afra:
- The infusions are a potential preventive treatment for malaria. Low concentrations of either of the infusions, by acting on the parasite injected by the mosquito, prevent it from entering the bloodstream where it causes the disease.
- A. annua and A. afra have a therapeutic activity by acting directly on the blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum.
- Les infusions pourraient permettre d’éviter The infusions could prevent relapses of malaria attacks, characteristic of Vivax and P. ovale.
Both disrupt the “awakening” of hypnozoites, responsible for relapses, several years after a primary infection.
They are an alternative treatment to Primaquine, the only effective treatment to date, but unusable for the populations of South East Asia, who are very much affected.
- A. annua and afra contain antimalarial molecules, in addition to artemisinin, which are yet to be determined
The study shows that the antiplasmodial effects of the infusions are mainly related to compounds other than artemisinin.
These observations argue for further screening to discover new antimalarial compounds, which are urgently needed.