Artemisinin [ahrʺtə-misʹĭ-nin]
Artemisinin is an antimalarial lactone derived from qing hao (Artemisia annua or sweet wormwood). The medicinal value of this plant has been known to the Chinese for at least 2,000 years. In 1596, Li Shizhen recommended tea made from qing hao specifically to treat malaria symptoms. The genus name is derived from the Greek goddess Artemis and, more specifically, may have been named after Queen Artemisia II of Caria, a botanist and medical researcher in the fourth century bce.
Footnotes
Suggested citation for this article: Etymologia: Artemisinin. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2014 Jul [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2007.ET2007
Sources
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