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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–4Cite as

Artemisinin

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Synonyms

Antimalarial; Artemisinin; Cancer cell cytotoxicity; Free radical; Selective effect

Definition

Artemisinin, a natural product (Fig. 1) isolated from the sweet wormwood Artemisia annua L, is a sesquiterpene lactone. Artemisinin has molecular formula of C15H22O5 (MW = 282.34). The structure of artemisinin contains fused 6- and 7-membered rings with a peroxide bridge (endoperoxide). Pure artemisinin is a white and crystalline powder that melts at 152–157 °C. Artemisinin is soluble in organic solvents but almost insoluble in water.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Molecular structures of several common artemisinin monomers

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References

  • Ades V (2011) Safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of artemisinins in pregnancy. Infect Dis Rep 3:e8

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corsello MA, Garg NK (2015) Synthetic chemistry fuels interdisciplinary approaches to the production of artemisinin. Nat Prod Rep 32:359–366

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  • Lai H, Singh NP, Sasaki T (2013) Development of artemisinin compounds for cancer treatment. Invest New Drugs 31:230–246

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Henry Lai & Narendra P. Singh

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Tomikazu Sasaki

Authors
  1. Henry Lai
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  2. Narendra P. Singh
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  3. Tomikazu Sasaki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henry Lai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lai, H., Singh, N.P., Sasaki, T. (2014). Artemisinin. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7201-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7201-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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