Artemisia annua anamed

Cultivation and Use

Family: Asteraceae
Artemisia annua:  “annua” means annual. Artemisia annua was used in Chinese folk medicine as early as 168 B.C. The use as an anti-malarial was first recorded in 340 A.D.
Artemisia annua is already used very extensively throughout the world to treat malaria, in the form of the isolated constituent artemisinin, or one of its derivates, in combination with another anti-malarial as tablets, suppositories and injections. In its Fact sheet number 271 of June 2002 the WHO wrote "The Chinese herbal remedy Artemisia annua has been found to be effective against resistant malaria and could give hope of preventing many of the 800,000 deaths among children from severe malaria each year"

anamed

“anamed” stands of “Action for Natural Medicine in the Tropics” anamed has set itself the aim of forming an information network of humanitarian organisations and clinics to support them in the cultivation of medicinal plants, their use and protection. Scientific analyses of medicinal plants and connection with universities in many countries contribute to the development of simple preparations for the home production of effective medicines.

Artemisia annua anamed ("A-3")

Wild forms of Artemisia annua have the disadvantage that they produce only a few leaves, little of the active ingredient and are difficult to cultivate in tropical countries. Artemisia annua anamed has been specially bred to grow in the Tropics up to a height of 3 metres, to have 20 times the amount of the active ingredient of the wild form, and with the leaves of one plant up to 10 malaria patients may be treated. Every health centre and hospital can cultivate Artemisia annua anamed and prepare tea to treat malaria patients. In any publications that report the use of Artemisia annua anamed, the purchaser is obliged to acknowledge anamed (www.anamed.net) as the source of the seeds, so that there is no confusion with the wild form.

Malaria

300 to 500 million people contract malaria each year, about 2.7 millions die per year. The plasmodia that carry the malaria have become increasingly resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat and prevent malaria. In traditional medicine, more than 1000 medicinal plants are used to treat malaria. These medicinal plants vary in efficacy and toxicity. Some of these plants are described in our books “Natural medicine in the Tropics I and II”.

Other Diceases

The main active pharmaceutical ingredient, Artemisinin, is not only patented for use in treating malaria, but also for treating AIDS and cancer. Its efficacy with numerous “hard to treat” infections such as leishmaniosis and bilharzia is described in the literature. Anamed has initiated the cultivation and usage of A-3 in 850 projects in 75 countries (as at January 2008). Many clinics inform us that it is not necessary to isolate the artemisinin: The whole extract (as tea) has the same or even better efficacy in treating malaria. We now collect, compile and publish all the feedback we receive from our partners, regarding the extent to which artemisia tea can be used to treat cancer, AIDS, rheumatism, ulcerative colitis, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, skin diseases, haemorrhoids, etc.

Dosage

As a doctor or development worker you can choose if you want to use artemisia in a high daily dose of 5g or in a low dose of 1.25g. We recommend the high daily dose in acute cases, the low dose in chronic cases. The duration of the therapy depends on the disease (it may be some days, or even some years).  
High dose: Pour one litre of boiling water over 5g of dried tea (or 25g of fresh leaves), leave it to stand for at least 15 minutes and drink in the course of the day. 5g of dried and sieved leaves correspond to about four teaspoons. You may also pulverise this amount and mix it into yoghurt, honey etc. and eat it in the course of the day.
Low dose: Pour 200ml (one big cup) of boiling water over 1.25g of dried tea (or 6.25g of fresh leaves), leave it to stand for at least 15 minutes and drink in the course of the day. 1.25g of dried and sieved leaves correspond to about one teaspoon. You may also pulverise this amount and mix it into yoghurt, honey etc. and eat it in the course of the day.

Interaction With Other Drugs

The mechanism by which artemisinin acts is quite new. It contains a peroxide-lactone group in its structure, and shows astonishingly little interaction with other substances. The same thing is true for the tea. All that we know is described in the section on treatment.

Side-Effects and Safety Instructions

see below