Artemisia annua

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BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome, posing a substantial healthcare burden. The pathological basis of AKI is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress which cause additional damage to mitochondria. Artesunate (ATS) is a derivative of artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua L . that is an effective treatment for malaria and favored for the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases. However, there are still challenges related to its efficacy, including poor water solubility, limited oral bioavailability and short half-life...

BACKGROUND: Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is widely used in plant functional genomics. However, the efficiency of VIGS in young plantlets varies across plant species. Additionally, VIGS is not optimized for many plant species, especially medicinal plants that produce valuable specialized metabolites. RESULTS: We evaluated the efficacy of five-day-old, etiolated seedlings of Catharanthus roseus (periwinkle) for VIGS. The seedlings were vacuum-infiltrated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 cells carrying the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) vectors...

The medicinal herb Artemisia annua L. is prized for its capacity to generate artemisinin, which is used to cure malaria. Potentially influencing the biomass and secondary metabolite synthesis of A. annua is plant nutrition, particularly phosphorus (P). However, most soil P exist as insoluble inorganic and organic phosphates, which results to low P availability limiting plant growth and development. Although plants have developed several adaptation strategies to low P levels, genetics and metabolic responses to P status remain largely unknown...

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell death mechanism driven by an accumulation of lipid peroxides on cellular membranes, has emerged as a promising strategy to treat various diseases, including cancer. Ferroptosis inducers not only exhibit cytotoxic effects on multiple cancer cells, including drug-resistant cancer variants, but also hold potential as adjuncts to enhance the efficacy of other anti-cancer therapies, such as immunotherapy. In addition to synthetic inducers, natural compounds, such as artemisinin, can be considered ferroptosis inducers...

Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related mortalities worldwide. While artemisinin (ART), a key active compound from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Artemisia annua , has been recognized for its antiproliferative activity against colon cancer cells, its underlying molecular underpinnings remain elusive. Whereas promiscuity of heme-dependent alkylating of macromolecules, mainly proteins, has been seen pivotal as a universal and primary mode of action of ART in cancer cells, accumulating evidence suggests the existence of unique targets and mechanisms of actions contingent on cell or tissue specificities...

The leaves of Artemisia annua contain GSTs (Glandular secretory trichomes) that can secrete and store artemisinin, the drug most effective for treating uncomplicated malaria. Therefore, increasing the density of GSTs in A. annua is an efficient way to enhance artemisinin content. However, our understanding of how GSTs develop still needs to be improved. Here, we isolated an A. annua homolog of AtGL3 (GLABRA3), known as AaGL3-like, that positively regulates trichome density in A. annua. AaGL3-like is nuclear-localized and transcriptionally active...

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin (ART) is mainly derived from Artemisia annua, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, and has been found to affect cellular biochemical processes, such as proliferation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis, in addition to its antimalarial properties. However, its effect on cardiac hypertrophy and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the effect of ART on cardiac hypertrophy and explore its possible mechanisms...

BACKGROUND: Anomalous activation of NF-κB signaling is associated with many inflammatory disorders, such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and acute lung injury (ALI). NF-κB activation requires the ubiquitination of receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) and NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO). Therefore, inhibition of ubiquitation of RIP1 and NEMO may serve as a potential approach for inhibiting NF-κB activation and alleviating inflammatory disorders. PURPOSE: Here, we identified arteannuin B (ATB), a sesquiterpene lactone found in the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia annua that is used to treat malaria and inflammatory diseases, as a potent anti-inflammatory compound, and then characterized the putative mechanisms of its anti-inflammatory action...

The current study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effects of Artemisia annua (RA) extract on hepatic toxicity induced by gentamicin injection mice. Sixteen mice were divided into four groups; the control group received saline, the second group received 1% A. annua (RA) extract, third group injected 80 mg/kg gentamicin (GEN) intraperitoneally. The protective group treated with a combination of GEN and A. annua . All mice were treated for consecutive 15 days. Results confirmed that hepatic biomarkers (GPT, GCT, GOT, IL-6 and IL-1β), all were altered after gentamycin injection...

BACKGROUND: Artesunate, a derivative of the active ingredient artemisinin from Artemisia annua L. used for centuries in the traditional Chinese medicine, is being applied as front-line drug in malaria treatment. As it is cytotoxic for cancer cells, trials are ongoing to include this drug as supplement in cancer therapy. In glioblastoma cells, artesunate was shown to induce oxidative stress, DNA base damage and double-strand breaks (DSBs), apoptosis, and necroptosis. It also inhibits DNA repair functions and bears senolytic activity...

Recent studies suggest that the anticancer activity of β-lapachone (β-Lap) could be improved by different types of bioactive phytochemicals. The aim of this study was to elucidate how the anticancer effect of β-Lap is regulated by polyphenols extracted from Korean Artemisia annua L. (pKAL) in parental HCT116 and oxaliplatin-resistant (OxPt-R) HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. Here, we show that the anticancer effect of β-Lap is more enhanced by pKAL in HCT116-OxPt-R cells than in HCT116 cells via a CCK-8 assay, Western blot, and phase-contrast microscopy analysis of hematoxylin-stained cells...

Terpenoids are the broadest and richest group of chemicals obtained from plants. These plant-derived terpenoids have been extensively utilized in various industries, including food and pharmaceuticals. Several specific terpenoids have been identified and isolated from medicinal plants, emphasizing the diversity of biosynthesis and specific functionality of terpenoids. With advances in the technology of sequencing, the genomes of certain important medicinal plants have been assembled. This has improved our knowledge of the biosynthesis and regulatory molecular functions of terpenoids with medicinal functions...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Artemisinin (ART) showed enhanced antimalarial potency in the herb Artemisia annua L. (A. annua), from which ART is isolated. Increased absorption of ART with inhibited metabolism in the plant matrix is an underlying mechanism. Several synergistic components have been reported based on a "bottom-up" approach, i.e., traditional isolation followed by pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic evaluation. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we employed a "top-down" approach based on in vivo antimalarial and pharmacokinetic studies to identify synergistic components in A...

Terpenoids are the main active components in the Zanthoxylum armatum leaves, which have extensive medicinal value. The Z. armatum leaf is the main by-product in the Z. armatum industry. However, the transcription factors involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoids are rarely reported. This study was performed to identify and classify the APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor (AP2/ERF) gene family of Z. armatum. The chromosome distribution, gene structure, conserved motifs, and cis-acting elements of the promoter of the species were also comprehensively analyzed...

Artesunate is a derivative of artemisinin, an active compound isolated from Artemisia annua which has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and to treat malaria worldwide. Artemisinin derivatives have exhibited anti-cancer activity against both solid tumors and leukemia. The direct target(s) of artesunate are controversial; although, heme-bound proteins in the mitochondria have been implicated. We utilized computational modeling to calculate the predicted binding score of artesunate with heme-bound mitochondrial proteins and identified cytochrome c as potential artesunate target...

Glandular trichomes are specialized structures found on the surface of plants to produce specific compounds, including terpenes, alkaloids, and other organic substances. Artemisia annua, commonly known as sweet wormwood, synthesizes and stores the antimalarial drug artemisinin in glandular trichomes. Previous research indicated that increasing the glandular trichome density could enhance artemisinin production, and the cuticle synthesis affected the initiation and development of glandular trichomes in A. annua...

In course of our studies of the aerial parts of Artemisia abrotanum the major methoxyflavonol could be isolated. However, by NMR structural analysis it became obvious that the substitution pattern in ring B differs from reports for casticin ( 2 ). The position of methoxyl and hydroxyl groups are interchanged, i.e., the major flavone is actually chrysosplenetin ( 1 ). Three structures in A. abrotanum and A. frigida had to be revised. Use of pyridine-d5 instead of DMSO‑ d 6 made the resolution of the B-ring 1 H and 13 C NMR signals possible and enabled correct structural assignment by 2D NMR experiments...

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the immune system's attack on one's own tissues which are highly diverse and diseases differ in severity, causing damage in virtually all human systems including connective tissue (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), neurological system (e.g., multiple sclerosis) and digestive system (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease). Historically, treatments normally include pain-killing medication, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressant drugs. However, given the above characteristics, treatment of autoimmune diseases has always been a challenge...

Malaria is one of our planet's most widespread and deadliest diseases, and there is an ever-consistent need for new and improved pharmaceuticals. Natural products have been an essential source of hit and lead compounds for drug discovery. Antimalarial drug artemisinin (ART), a highly effective natural product, is an enantiopure sesquiterpene lactone and occurs in Artemisia annua L. The development of improved antimalarial drugs, which are highly potent and at the same time inherently fluorescent is particularly favorable and highly desirable since they can be used for live-cell imaging, avoiding the requirement of the drug's linkage to an external fluorescent label...