review · Metabolites
Species within the Artemisia genus, notably Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra, produce diverse secondary metabolites with distinct medicinal qualities. Chemical investigations of these plants have yielded monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and polyphenols exhibiting anti-malarial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating activities. While artemisinin from Artemisia annua remains a well-known anti-malarial, numerous other isolated constituents contribute to therapeutic effects through direct anti-plasmodial mechanisms, anti-fever action, or immune modulation. Understanding these natural compounds requires evaluating both their pharmacodynamics and their pharmacokinetics, particularly how individual molecules alter bioavailability through cytochrome P450 interactions, P-glycoprotein modulation, and the stabilisation of active components. Furthermore, assessing the safety profile and toxicity of Artemisia species alongside their medicinal effects provides critical context for evaluating their therapeutic reliability. Compiling evidence across these plant compounds clarifies how specific secondary metabolites function collectively or individually in addressing malaria and associated inflammatory conditions.
Malaria and inflammatory diseases require effective, resilient treatment options. Plant-derived molecules from Artemisia species offer diverse chemical scaffolds beyond isolated artemisinin. Clarifying how these compounds work, how the body absorbs and metabolises them, and whether they carry toxic risks assists in identifying promising candidate molecules and understanding how natural phytochemical mixtures behave inside biological systems.
The collated evidence provides early-stage reference data for drug discovery researchers and pharmaceutical developers exploring plant-based antimalarial and anti-inflammatory therapies. By categorising compounds according to direct therapeutic actions, toxicity, and pharmacokinetic effects on bioavailability, the insights can guide early molecule screening and formulation design. Given the reliance on gathered laboratory and pharmacological literature, these insights sit at the early discovery stage, well before clinical or commercial translation.
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There are over 500 species of the genus Artemisia in the Asteraceae family distributed over the globe, with varying potentials to treat different ailments. Following the isolation of artemisinin (a potent anti-malarial compound with a sesquiterpene backbone) from Artemisia annua, the phytochemical composition of this species has been of interest over recent decades. Additionally, the number of phytochemical investigations of other species, including those of Artemisia afra in a search for new molecules with pharmacological potentials, has increased in recent years. This has led to the isolation of several compounds from both species, including a majority of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and polyphenols with varying pharmacological activities. This review aims to discuss the most important compounds present in both plant species with anti-malarial properties, anti-inflammatory potentials, and immunomodulating properties, with an emphasis on their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties. Additionally, the toxicity of both plants and their anti-malaria properties, including those of other species in the genus Artemisia, is discussed. As such, data were collected via a thorough literature search in web databases, such as ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, Google scholar, PubMed, Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical databases, up to 2022. A distinction was made between compounds involved in a direct anti-plasmodial activity and those expressing anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating activities or anti-fever properties. For pharmacokinetics activities, a distinction was made between compounds influencing bioavailability (CYP effect or P-Glycoprotein effect) and those affecting the stability of pharmacodynamic active components.
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DOI: 10.3390/metabo13050613
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