Uncovering the Power of Plant Benefits

Nobel Price in Medicine 2015 - Tu Youyou

A number of serious infectious diseases are caused by parasites spread by insects. Malaria is caused by a single-cell parasite that causes severe fever. In the 1970s, after studies of traditional herbal medicines, Tu Youyou focused on sweet wormwood and managed to extract a substance, artemisinin, which inhibits the malaria parasite. Drugs based on artemisinin have led to the survival and improved health of millions of people.

Image: Tu Youyou searched ancient literature on herbal medicine in her quest to develop novel malaria therapies. The plant Artemisia annua turned out to be an interesting candidate, and Tu developed a purification procedure, which rendered the active agent, Artemisinin, a drug that is remarkably effective against Malaria. Illustration: Mattias Karlén

Other Plant Studies:

The Role of Plant-Derived Natural Products in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease—What Is the Clinical Evidence So Far? 

Anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities of frankincense: Targets, treatments & toxicities 

Phytochemistry, Biological, and Pharmacological Properties of Abies alba Mill