Screening of Different Artemisia spp. from Western Ghats of Maharashtra for an Anti-Malarial Compound—Artemisinin

Abstract

Artemisinin, an endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone has proven effective in treating drug resistant cases of malaria and cancer. Artemisia annua [sweet wormwood] is the sole source for artemisinin production in many countries. To counter the low content in leaves and costly chemical synthesis process in India, alternative ways to produce artemisinin have been sought. In current study, we collected A. pallens, A. japonica and A. nilagirica from Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India and analyzed artemisinin content. Samples were extracted from leaves and florets in various extraction conditions and analyzed using different chromatographic techniques. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis showed the presence of compound with endoperoxide linkage in A. nilagirica. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed the detection of artemisinin in methylene dichloride florets extract of A. japonica, but the concentration was too low [1.3 mg/g dry wt.] for further analyses. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis identified structurally important components in the A. nilagirica ethyl acetate extract which explores the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin from its most important precursor amorpha-4,11-diene. This is the first report of chromatographic screening of these Indian varieties of Artemisia spp. for artemisinin content.