Evaluation of Artemisia annua infusion efficacy for the treatment of malaria in Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi infected mice

The efficacy of artemisinin (AR) against malaria has prompted its use as a tea drink in endemic communities. However, there is controversy about its efficacy in this form. Therefore we have investigated the effectiveness of Artemisia annua infusion in infected mice. OF1 mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi were treated for upto 6 days by administration of: water (control group), A. annua infusion (tea group), 0.022 mg AR (AR-equiv. group) and 0.8 mg AR on the first day and 0.4 mg the following day (AR-WHO group). Initially, the parasitaemia increased in all groups. On day 4 it reached 75% in the control group, 72% in the AR-equiv. group, 50% in the tea group and 3% in the AR-WHO group. Mice treated with A. annua tea died after 11 days. while 83% of AR-WHO dose survived. The tea does not decrease the parasitaemia fast enough. We suggest that large clinical trials on human subjects are necessary to ascertain the efficacy of standardized tea. Additionally, other treatment possibilities are suggested. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved