title: Hemin-catalyzed decomposition of artemisinin (qinghaosu).
abstract: Artemisinin (qinghaosu) and its derivatives represent an important new class of antimalarial drugs. Previous work suggests that the antimalarial activity of artemisinin may be mediated by a reaction with intraparasitic hemin. Using cyclic voltammetry, artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin were irreversibly reduced at approximately -1 V. In the presence of concentrations of hemin as low as 50 nM, the reduction took place at much lower potentials (-0.435 to -0.460 V). Both reductions took place after adsorption onto the electrode surface. The shift of the reduction potential to more positive values is indicative of a catalytic process similar to that seen with hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic decomposition of artemisinin may play a role in the antimalarial activity of artemisinin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, City College of New York, NY 10031.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Gosser
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Meshnick
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000737:chemistry*; D037621:Artemisinins; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D006427:Hemin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C024823:ferric sulfate; C039060:artenimol; D006427:Hemin; C031327:artemisinin