Abstract
Artemisinin, the endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone, is an effective antimalarial drug isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua L. Due to its effectiveness against multi-drug-resistant cerebral malaria, it becomes the essential components of the artemisinin-based combination therapies which are recommended by the World Health Organization as the preferred choice for malaria tropica treatments. To date, plant A. annua is still the main commercial source of artemisinin. Although semi-synthesis of artemisinin via artemisinic acid in yeast is feasible at present, another promising approach to reduce the price of artemisinin is using plant metabolic engineering to obtain a higher content of artemisinin in transgenic plants. In the past years, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system of A. annua has been established by which a number of genes related to artemisinin biosynthesis have been successfully transferred into A. annua plants. In this review, the progress on increasing artemisinin content in A. annua by transgenic approach and its future prospect are summarized and discussed.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
