Efferth Thomas, Romero Marta R, Wolf Dana G, Stamminger Thomas, Marin Jose J G, Marschall Manfred
German Cancer Research Center, Pharmaceutical Biology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, Heidelberg, Germany.
Clin Infect Dis. 2008 Sep 15;47(6):804-11. doi: 10.1086/591195.
Traditional Chinese medicine commands a unique position among all traditional medicines because of its 5000 years of history. Our own interest in natural products from traditional Chinese medicine was triggered in the 1990s, by artemisinin-type sesquiterpene lactones from Artemisia annua L. As demonstrated in recent years, this class of compounds has activity against malaria, cancer cells, and schistosomiasis. Interestingly, the bioactivity of artemisinin and its semisynthetic derivative artesunate is even broader and includes the inhibition of certain viruses, such as human cytomegalovirus and other members of the Herpesviridae family (e.g., herpes simplex virus type 1 and Epstein-Barr virus), hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and bovine viral diarrhea virus. Analysis of the complete profile of the pharmacological activities and molecular modes of action of artemisinin and artesunate and their performance in clinical trials will further elucidate the full antimicrobial potential of these versatile pharmacological tools from nature.
由于拥有5000年的历史，中药在所有传统医学中占据着独特的地位。我们自己对来自中药的天然产物的兴趣始于20世纪90年代，当时从青蒿中发现了青蒿素类倍半萜内酯。近年来的研究表明，这类化合物对疟疾、癌细胞和血吸虫病具有活性。有趣的是，青蒿素及其半合成衍生物青蒿琥酯的生物活性甚至更广，包括对某些病毒的抑制作用，如人巨细胞病毒和疱疹病毒科的其他成员（如1型单纯疱疹病毒和EB病毒）、乙型肝炎病毒、丙型肝炎病毒和牛病毒性腹泻病毒。对青蒿素和青蒿琥酯的药理活性、分子作用模式及其在临床试验中的表现进行全面分析，将进一步阐明这些来自自然界的多功能药理工具的全部抗菌潜力。
