Figure 2.

Proposed biological models for the action of artemisinin (Art). (a) The PfATP6 model: artemisinin undergoes activation by reacting with catalytic iron, and after non-covalent specific interaction with PfATP6, the formed free radicals then exert irreversible damage to this target protein. (b) The heme model: artemisinin is activated by heme, followed by alkylation of heme and/or other malarial proteins. (c) The mitochondria model: malarial mitochondria specifically activate artemisinin. The activated artemisinin then induces free radicals production and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. No specific protein targets are implicated.