Page 18 - GHES-3-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Sustainable therapeutic Artemisia

Figure 4. TLC of Artemisia annua. Vanillin staining for increasing concentrations of A. annua extracts (A) and pure ART (B). (C) p-anisaldehyde staining
for increasing concentrations of A. annua extracts. Total flavonoid separation and viewing under visible light (D) and with DPBA staining under UV
light (E).
Abbreviations: ART: Artemisinin; DPBA: 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate; TLC: Thin-layer chromatography; UV: Ultraviolet.

Table 4. Advantages and disadvantages of using Artemisia leaves for therapeutics.

Mode Advantages Disadvantages
Tea infusion • Low capital costs • Needs large‑scale clinical trial to validate for malaria
• Well‑established by LMA • Needs clinical trials to validate for other diseases
• Efficacious for malaria treatment (according to LMA) • The reticence of regulatory agencies to approve
• Practical for rural areas • Not practical for urban areas
• Creates local jobs • Potential for inconsistent dosing
Powdered dried • Easy to manufacture • Higher capital costs compared to tea infusion
leaf capsules • Consistent dosing • Needs large‑scale clinical trial to validate
• More practical for urban areas • Needs clinical trials to validate for other diseases
• Creates local jobs More akin to a Western drug rather than a traditional medicine,
• Easier regulatory approval as a botanical drug thereby potentially less acceptance by some cultures.
• A preliminary trial suggested efficacy for malaria (Onimus
et al., 2013)
• Option as a suppository for less than 5‑year‑old patients
Powdered dried • Easy to manufacture • Higher capital costs compared to tea infusion
leaf tablets • Consistent dosing • Needs large‑scale clinical trial to validate malaria
• More practical for urban areas • Needs clinical trials to validate for other diseases
• Creates local jobs • More akin to a Western drug rather than a traditional
• Easier regulatory approval as a botanical drug medicine, thereby potentially less acceptance by some cultures.
• A small trial reported efficacy for malaria (Daddy et al.,
2017)
Abbreviation: LMA: La Maison d’Artemisia.

ART, the definitive marker for A. annua. While there is a 6. Sustainability considerations
plethora of possible analytical methods available to detect 6.1. Artemisia versus ACT carbon footprint
the authenticity of an herbal product, most methods other
than TLC are too expensive or complex for quick analysis As part of its sustainability effort, Carbone 4 compared
(Liu et al., 2023). Although LMA advises its members the carbon emissions of ACTs with local production
to be vigilant against counterfeit Artemisia tea, with key and the traditional use of Artemisia as the therapeutic
7
identifying features of packaging provided for reference tea infusion promoted by LMA. ACT inputs included
(Figure 3), such easily replicated images and packaging are Artemisia leaf extraction, semi-synthesis of the molecule
(e.g., AS, DHA, and AM), excipient addition, packaging,
often copied illegally, making analytical methods essential
for verification. Unlike A. annua, there unfortunately seems 7 (https://maison-artemisia.org/en/science-innovation/
to be no key marker compound to authenticate A. afra. environnemental-health/ (accessed on September 8, 2024)

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4927