Overview of the efficacy, advantages and disadvantages of artemisinin capsules in treating malaria

Introduction: Multiple clinical studies have shown that artemisinin and its derivatives are safe and effective antimalarial drugs and are well tolerated. Due to its unique anti-malarial mechanism, artemisinin capsules have a killing effect on a variety of malaria parasites, especially cerebral malaria and chloroquine-resistant malaria. Artemisinin capsules can quickly eliminate malaria parasites from the body and reduce the frequency and severity of malaria attacks.

Overview of artemisinin capsule drugs

Artemisinin and its semisynthetic derivatives are a group of drugs used to treat malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. It was discovered in 1972 by Tu Youyou, who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery. Artemisinin capsule-based combination therapy (ACT) has now become the standard treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria and malaria caused by other Plasmodium species worldwide. Artemisinin is extracted from the plant Artemisia annua (Artemisia annua), an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Efficacy analysis

It has a rapid anti-malarial effect, can quickly reduce the number of malaria parasites in the blood, and effectively relieve symptoms caused by malaria, such as high fever, chills, headache and muscle pain, etc., especially for the treatment of dangerous malaria and cerebral malaria. Artemisinin capsules can also effectively kill Plasmodium. By interfering with the surface membrane-mitochondria function of Plasmodium, it can destroy the Plasmodium's membrane structure, including the nuclear membrane, mitochondrial membrane, etc., leading to metabolic disorders and structural collapse of the Plasmodium, and ultimately death.

Therapeutic Advantages and Disadvantages

Artemisinin and its derivatives have been used to treat malaria and parasitic (worm) infections. Advantages of this type of treatment include faster parasite elimination and broader efficacy over the parasite life cycle compared to other antiparasitic drugs.

The disadvantages include low bioavailability, poor pharmacokinetic properties and high cost. Additionally, the World Health Organization explicitly discourages the use of the drug itself as monotherapy because of signs that malaria parasites are developing resistance to the drug. Combination therapy, featuring capsules of artemisinin or its derivatives together with some other antimalarial drugs, constitutes the contemporary standard of care treatment regimen for malaria.