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The Surprising Efficiency of Artemisia annua Powder Capsules

Michel Onimus, Sophie Carteron and Pierre Pierre Lutgen

The administration of powdered leaves of Artemisia annua, used as preventive treatment of malaria attack, was evaluated in 25 patients, most of them children, and all of them were operated for orthopaedic disorder. The duration of the treatment was 36 hours in 11 patients and 60 hours in 14 patients. The average parasitemia was reduced from 432 parasites/ml to 165 parasites/ml, i.e. 62% improvement, without significant difference according to the duration of the treatment. The efficacy was similar whatever the age and the weight of the patient. These results were obtained with a very low amount of powder (400 to 500 mg per day), and with very low quantity of artemisinin (0.4 to 0.5 mg per day). It is concluded that the Artemisia annua powder is apparently more effective than the tea preparation, but more costly and maybe not routinely available. The tea preparation, inexpensive and available everywhere, is still the best method for prevention and treatment of malaria on a large scale and should be preferred in the poorest countries.