Studies On Artemisinin For Osteosarcoma

Artemisinin, a common anti-malaria agent, remains produced from plants, unlike most medicinal substances, which are synthetic. Artemisinin has been part of the most common class of anti-malarial drugs since 1995, according to a study published in "Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy" in 1997. Since 2000, research has been conducted on the anti-cancer properties of artemisinin. This compound and others like it should only be used at the direction of a physician. It is now used to treat osteosarcoma, or various bone cancers.

Artemisinin

Artemisinin has been used by Chinese herbalists for centuries. Research was conducted in China on the efficacy of the drug in 1972. Much of the early research was performed exclusively on the anti-malarial properties of artemisinin, and nothing formal was published until 1979 in the "Chinese Medical Journal." Research on artemisinin and other similar compounds was first published in 2003 in the "Journal of Medicinal Chemistry."

Multiple Functions

In late 2005, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, conducted numerous tests on artemisinin, including anti-cancer research. In 2006, they published their research in "Current Drug Targets," which showed that artemisinin had several anti-cancer effects, including slowing the proliferation of cancer cells, including those located in the bone. Artemisinin was also shown to halt tumor growth, reduce oxidative stress, or the waste products created by your system fighting cancer, and in some cases even suppress or destroy cancer cells.

Anti-tumor Activity

Researchers at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, investigated artemisinin and other drugs from the same family and their effect on cancerous tumors. The effect of artemisinin on cancer of the breast, prostate and bone, among other areas, was studied. Their research revealed that artemisinin was more effective than many common anti-cancer drugs, including paclitaxel. During the study, artemisinin also displayed the ability of inducing apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancer cells. This research was published in "Head and Neck" in 2007.

Live Testing

While much of the testing on artemisinin was done in the lab, in 2008 researchers from the School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, China, conducted tests on humans with hepatomas and various types of osteosarcoma. Various types of cancer cells were treated with artemisinin, which showed significant anti-cancer effects when used in people, instead of just the lab. The results of their research were published in the September 2008 issue of "Clinical Cancer Research."