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Artemisinin: current state and perspectives for biotechnological production of an antimalarial drug

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Abstract

Artemisinin isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia annua L. is a promising and potent antimalarial drug which has a remarkable activity against chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum, and is useful in treatment of cerebral malaria. Because the low content (0.01–1 %) of artemisinin in A. annua is a limitation to the commercial production of the drug, many research groups have been focusing their researches on enhancing the production of artemisinin in tissue culture or in the whole plant of A. annua. This review mainly focuses on the progresses made in the production of artemisinin from A. annua by biotechnological strategies including in vitro tissue culture, metabolic regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis, genetic engineering, and bioreactor technology.

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  1. National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100080, People’s Republic of China

    Chunzhao Liu, Yan Zhao & Yuchun Wang

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Chunzhao Liu & Yan Zhao

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Liu, C., Zhao, Y. & Wang, Y. Artemisinin: current state and perspectives for biotechnological production of an antimalarial drug. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 72, 11–20 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0452-0

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