Here’s a new cure for malaria

PUNE, NOV 18: There is a new cure for malaria in town, thanks to the ongoing research at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic ...

PUNE, NOV 18: There is a new cure for malaria in town, thanks to the ongoing research at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) at Lucknow. Malaria, which has a history of becoming drug resistant within a few generations has now beaten back some of the standard prescriptions. Be it quinine, chloroquine or mafloquine. And the biggest villain the plasmodium falciparum, which causes the fatal cerebral malaria has proved to be a tough customer.

That is till research revealed that Arti Misinium an extract from the plant Artemisia Annua did the trick. “But there was a problem,” points out CIMAP director Sushil Kumar. In town to deliver the annual S P Agharkar lecture at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), he put forth the anti malaria story as one of the institute’s biggest success.

“The drug that we extracted had a low absorption rate and hence adequate amounts were not being inducted into the body.” So research continued and a semi-synthetic extract was manufactured. Which did the trick.

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So much so that just three injections administered over a period of three days were enough to cure a patient. Something that the medical fraternity took to with great enthusiasm as malaria was seen spreading to colder climes as well.

“But we had another problem,” says Kumar. “The plant was not available in India and the drug had to be imported.” So CIMAP got into the act to ensure that the plant could be grown in India, thus making the drug available to the masses. “We conducted further research and today a variety of the plant can also be grown in India.” Which translates into lesser costs and easier accessibility.

But the CIMAP is now keen on breaking into newer areas. Some include on research into drugs to battle against cancer, arthritis, AIDS and other diseases that have been in circulation in the research laboratories.

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