Impact of organic manure and chemical fertilizers on artemisinin content and yield in Artemisia annua L

Abstract

Artemisinin isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia annua L. is a promising and potent antimalarial drug. It posses remarkable activity against both chloroquinine resistant as well as chloroquinine sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It is also useful in the treatment of cerebral malaria. The relatively low content of artemisinin in A. annua and unavailability of cost effective and viable synthetic protocol however, are major obstacles to the commercial production of the drug. The enhanced production of artemisinin is hence, highly desirable, which can be achieved by adequate and judicious supply of plant nutrients. The present experiment was therefore, designed to study the effect of organic manure (15tonnesha−1) and chemical fertilizers (N40+40, P40, K40, S15+15kgha−1; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur) on the accumulation of artemisinin and biomass in various plant parts through the developmental stages of A. annua L. Artemisinin yield (kgha−1) was also determined through the developmental stages of A. annua L. Artemisinin content and artemisinin yield of dried leaves were increased significantly at pre-flowering stage in the plants treated with NPKS (27.3% and 53.6%) and NPK (18.2% and 33.5%), respectively, when compared with control. Maximum dry yield of leaf ranging from 2596 to 3141kgha−1 was observed at pre-flowering stage with various treatments.