TY  - JOUR
VL  - 103
AV  - public
Y1  - 2020/09/02/
SP  - 960
EP  - 964
TI  - Artemisia Spp. Derivatives for COVID-19 Treatment: Anecdotal Use, Political Hype, Treatment Potential, Challenges, and Road Map to Randomized Clinical Trials
IS  - 3
N1  - This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images
or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license,
unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0820
N2  - The world is currently facing a novel COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 that, as of July 12, 2020, has caused a reported 12,322,395 cases and 556,335 deaths. To date, only two treatments, remdesivir and dexamethasone, have demonstrated clinical efficacy through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in seriously ill patients. The search for new or repurposed drugs for treatment of COVID-19 continues. We have witnessed anecdotal use of herbal medicines, including Artemisia spp. extracts, in low-income countries, and exaggerated claims of their efficacies that are not evidence based, with subsequent political controversy. These events highlight the urgent need for further research on herbal compounds to evaluate efficacy through RCTs, and, when efficacious compounds are identified, to establish the active ingredients, develop formulations and dosing, and define pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and safety to enable drug development. Derivatives from the herb Artemisia annua have been used as traditional medicine over centuries for the treatment of fevers, malaria, and respiratory tract infections. We review the bioactive compounds, pharmacological and immunological effects, and traditional uses for Artemisia spp. derivatives, and discuss the challenges and controversies surrounding current efforts and the scientific road map to advance them to prevent or treat COVID-19.
ID  - discovery10111139
A1  - Kapepula, PM
A1  - Kabengele, JK
A1  - Kingombe, M
A1  - Van Bambeke, F
A1  - Tulkens, PM
A1  - Sadiki Kishabongo, A
A1  - Decloedt, E
A1  - Zumla, A
A1  - Tiberi, S
A1  - Suleman, F
A1  - Tshilolo, L
A1  - Muyembe-TamFum, J-J
A1  - Zumla, A
A1  - Nachega, JB
KW  - Artemisia
KW  -  Betacoronavirus
KW  -  Coronavirus Infections
KW  -  Humans
KW  -  Pandemics
KW  -  Plant Extracts
KW  -  Pneumonia
KW  -  Viral
KW  -  Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
JF  - The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
ER  -