Artemisia annua and malaria

In tropical countries malaria kills about 2.7 million people every year. This total includes one million children. That means, a child dies of malaria somewhere in the world every 30 seconds.

One could suggest that the mosquito Anopheles, or Plasmodium falciparum, is the worst terrorist in the world.

The money spent in the war against the terrorism of malaria is tiny compared with the money spent in the world on guns and bombs.

Even so, great advances have been made in pharmaceutical technology, but still many of the poorest people in the world continue to suffer from this terrorist. The pharmaceutical industry can make bigger profits in other areas, and northern governments spend their billions to support their own economic success.

There is a way forward, however, for those more concerned about health than profit, and more concerned about local economic development than Gross National Product. It is with Artemisia annua anamed (A-3), which can be grown by small-scale farmers, and by health centres and hospitals in their medicinal gardens. The leaves are then used to make artemisia tea, which has proven itself to be a very effective treatment for malaria.

Most patients also claim that, following treatment with artemisia tea, the interval before the next malaria attack becomes much longer. Compared with modern pharmaceuticals, and even with artemisinin based drugs, the tea contains a wider range of antimalarial components. This reduces the danger of resistance developing.

A-3 is also helpful with many other diseases and complaints:

• Artemisia tea strengthens the immune system of AIDS patients.
• It treats haemorrhoids, internally as tea and externally as ointment.
• Eye infections, using artemisia tea internally and, finely filtered, as an eye bath.
• Bronchitis, as tea and inhalation.
• Skin complaints, as ointment.
• Digestion problems, as tea.
• Bilharzia, as tea.
• As supportive treatment with cancer.
• We are receiving reports about its use in the treatment of epilepsy, cholera, bladder infections and other diseases and complaints.

The Anamed Artemisia Programme now (January 2010) includes over 1100 people in more than 75 countries who are growing A-3, using it to treat malaria and other diseases, and giving feedback. This feedback is then shared via circular letters (see below) so that our pool of common knowledge and experience is continually increasing.

If you live and work where malaria is a daily hazard, we invite you to grow and use Artemisia annua anamed yourself. Establish a nursery, and take cuttings once a month. Harvest the leaves, dry them and store them for use whenever required. Then teach your neighbours. Such an initiative not only helps people to be more healthy, but, as a direct result, helps to raise the economic level of the entire community.

The picture shows artemisia being grown in a village in Karamoja, in a remote part of North East Uganda. We recommend the use of mulch, and intercropping with other plants, e.g. maize (artemisia helps to protect the maize from insect pests), beans or tephrosia (these crops put nitrogen into the soil and thus increase soil fertility).

Would you like to grow your own artemisia plants? Buy seeds in an Artemisia Starter-Kit. This kit contains seeds and all you need to know about the cultivation and use of artemisia.

The most effective, modern drugs for the treatment of malaria contain artemisinin, which the pharmaceutical industry extracts from plantations of Artemisia annua, mostly in China and East Africa. Resistance has already occurred in some cases where artemisinin has been used alone, for example in drugs such as Artesunate or Artenam. The World Health Organisation now recommends that drugs be produced which combine artemisinin with another antimalarial in what is known as “Artemisinin Combination Therapy” or ACT drugs. The best known such drug is Coartem or Riamet which is a combination of artemisinin and Lumefantrin.

November 2008. The British Medical Journal published an article that indicates that ACT drugs are not accessible or affordable in Uganda - even though they are technically available free of charge. Doctors Simon Challand and Merlin Willcox, who have experience of using herbal antimalarials in Africa, have made a very appropriate response. Read more .. For a more detailed justification of anamed’s work in general and with Artemisia annua in particular, click here

Read How to treat malaria with tea from Artemisia annua anamed

Recently appearing in the internet is the complete book “Traditional Medicinal plants and malaria” edited by Merlin Willcox, Gerard Bodeker and Philippe Rasoanaivo. This is a detailed summary of many anti-malarial plants that was published in 2005. Of particular interest is chapter 3, which is entitled “Artemisia annua as a complete herbal anti-malarial” and was written by Merlin Willcox, Hans-Martin Hirt and others. Link

March 2010: Day workshop organised by anamed, RITAM and Green Templeton College in Oxford, UK: “Artemisia annua for the treatment of malaria”. (RITAM = Research Initiative into Traditional Antimalarial Methods - web-site)
Read the report

April 2010: ICEI held a one day symposium in Rome; “Fighting Malaria in Africa and Artemisia annua L. Infusion”. The powerpoint presentations can be read online.

Read our circular letters:

May 2010 This letter includes the latest WHO guidelines regarding the use of artemisinin with pregnant women, and a request for feedback regarding the use of artemisia tea in this situation. Also a reminder about the ideal way to dry and store artemisia tea, in order that the medicinal properties are conserved.

December 2008 The value of Natural Medicine where the formal structures fail to deliver drugs and treatment. Also some “Echoes” from the field.

July 2008 This letter includes “Echoes” of how valuable some patients and development workers how found artemisia tea to be.

July 2007 Includes a summary of the dangers of using DDT to combat malaria

May 2006 “Artemisia annua Tea - a revolution in the history of tropical medicine”
This paper answers every possible objection to the use of artemisia tea as a treatment for malaria.

See also “rich artemisia” - a brief explanation as to how the whole plant Artemisia annua anamed is a valuable resource. The pharmaceutical industry throws away valuable antimalarial components. Of course, industry has no interest in a plant that patients can grow in their back garden!

January 2006 (pdf file) “The economics of the cultivation and sale of artemisia”, “A story of local economic development from Ethiopia” and “The economic impact of malaria”.

January 2005

Artemisia tea as prophylaxis?

A possible malaria programme in tropical countries

Clinical Results of the Use of Artemisia annua tea

Read accounts written by the World Agroforestry Centre
“Artemisia tea in Mozambique” and “Home grown cure for malaria” (This site takes a few moments to appear)

Read the paper ““Silver Bullet” Drugs vs. Traditional Herbal Remedies: Perspectives on Malaria” by Kevin Spelman” which was published in the journal Herbalgram, number 84, November 2009. The paper presents good reasons for the use of whole plant extracts, rather than the use of single isolated componenets.

Artemisia and cancer

Artemisinin was patented in 1966 by Dr Singh of Washington DC for use in treating cancer. In the United States, Doctors Lai and Singh have written extensively on this topic, as has Donald R. Yance, Jr, MH, of the Center for Natural Healing, Ashland, Oregon.

Today artemisinin does not feature amongst conventional drugs for the treatment of cancer. Dr Singh`s comment on this matter is that “artemisinin is simply too cheap”!!!

Over the past few years some anamed partners have been very successful in treating some cancers with artemisia tea. It is therefore regrettable that very little research is being conducted into artemisinin as a treatment for cancer. The tragic reality is that profit is more important than healing.

Although anamed can now show that artemisia is effective in treating some forms of cancer, we have not yet succeeded in convincing the majority of the medical profession. We do not have the means to be able to invite doctors for a weekend skiing in Switzerland, as is the custom of the pharmaceutical industry!

To read more about the experience that some anamed associates are developing in the use of Artemisia annua in treating cancer, please see the following:

September 2008 Artemisia and cancer - a discussion paper
Artemisia and cancer - general guidelines

Artemisia and AIDS

Associates of anamed in many African countries are reporting the remarkable effects of artemisia tea and moringa leaf powder with AIDS patients, even patients who have been seriously ill. Evidence seems to suggest that this treatment is effective whether or not the patient is taking ARV drugs - clearly a wonderful lifeline for those people who, because of civil disturbance and other problems of delivery, have no access to ARV drugs. For more information:

June 2006. “Artemisia and moringa work wonders for AIDS patients in Tanzania”

Final recommendation

The treatment of malaria and cancer with artemisia tea, and also its use in massively strengthening the immune system of HIV positive people, will continue to lie outside the formal health provision of the majority of countries.

Therefore, it is important for each patient to become both a doctor and researcher. We encourage each patient to proceed with caution, to be aware of their own symptoms, to take artemisia tea (or any other appropriate herbal medicine) as recommended (preferably with the support of their own doctor) and to judge the results of that treatment.

If the treatment alleviates the symptoms, the patient should continue with the treatment. When healing is complete, the patient can throw a party and inform anamed.

If the treatment does not relieve the symptoms, the patient should stop the treatment and, in consultation with the doctor, try an alternative treatment. The patient should in this case also please inform anamed.