History of antimalarial drugs - Medicines for Malaria Venture
The story of antimalarial drugs is a millennia-long race between human ingenuity and a parasite that constantly evolves to outsmart its cures. It is a narrative that spans ancient forests, secret wartime laboratories, and modern-day medical miracles. 1. The Ancient Bitter Bark
: Quinine is still used today for severe malaria, nearly 400 years after its first documented use. 2. The Secret Mission: Project 523 antimalarial drug
: A scientist tasked with the mission turned to ancient medical texts. She discovered a reference to "sweet wormwood" ( Artemisia annua ) being used to treat fever in 340 AD.
: Isolated in 1820 by French chemists, this "Jesuit's powder" became the first world-standard treatment. History of antimalarial drugs - Medicines for Malaria
: To prove it was safe, Tu volunteered to be the first human subject to take the drug. Her discovery eventually earned her the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015. 3. The Shadow of Side Effects
The race for new drugs hasn't been without controversy. (Lariam), developed by the US Army in the 1970s, was a powerful long-acting drug. However, it became notorious for severe neuropsychiatric side effects, including: The Ancient Bitter Bark : Quinine is still
Long before laboratories existed, the story began in the Andean forests of South America with the . Legend has it that an indigenous Peruvian man, suffering from a high fever, drank from a pool of bitter water where a Cinchona trunk had fallen—and his fever broke.
