ABSTRACT
Artemisinin is an endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone that is produced by aerial parts of Artemisia annua L. and is effective against multidrug resistant strains of the malarial parasite. Artemisinin has proved to be one of the most promising drugs. It also possesses considerable antitumor, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. Artemisinin derivatives are fast-acting substances that can rapidly remove the malarial parasites from blood. Artemisinin and its derivatives are the only group of compounds against which malarial parasites have not yet developed resistance. Amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS) is a key regulatory enzyme, catalyzing the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of artemisinin. It is involved in the first committed step in artemisinin biosynthesis. Artemisinic acid is a common precursor of arteannuin B and artemisinin. Artemisinin has been formed by incubating artemisinic acid and arteannuin B with A. annua leaf extract. The study of the artemisinin biosynthesis pathway has made remarkable progress, especially since the discovery of important regulating enzymes.
