Herb ·Moderate evidence ·Reviewed May 2026
Nobel Prize-winning compound from sweet wormwood with antimalarial and anticancer research.
The bottom line
Evidence rating moderate. Most-documented uses: antimalarial, anticancer research, anti-parasitic. 17 sources indexed (1993–2025), with 5 interaction records on file.
Core mechanism
Endoperoxide bridge reacts with iron in parasites/cancer cells, generating cytotoxic free radicals. Selective toxicity to iron-rich cells.14
Take with fat; short courses only (2-4 weeks)13
Dosing protocol
Not a routine supplement. Artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate are prescription drugs; supplemental artemisinin is unregulated.13
Ranked by evidence and value.
Real-world pricing across three quality tiers. Assumes Artemisinin Extract.
Weak estimate: assumes 100-200 mg/day short-course use. Vendor basis: allergy/specialty brands on Amazon marketplace, iHerb, and practitioner-channel products; retail comparables are limited. Updated 2026-05-28.
How much you'd eat to match a supplemental dose.
Artemisinin is a concentrated compound from sweet wormwood and is not meaningfully obtained from ordinary foods.
Artemisinin irreversibly inhibits CYP3A4 (~70%) and CYP2B6. CYP3A4 metabolizes ~50% of all prescription drugs.
Recommendation: Review all prescription medications for CYP3A4 metabolism before starting artemisinin.
Iron supplementation may modulate artemisinin activity, because artemisinin relies on iron to generate its cytotoxic free radicals and iron status can alter its pharmacodynamics.
Recommendation: Use caution when combining iron with artemisinin and discuss with a clinician, especially during therapeutic antimalarial use.
NAC is a potent antioxidant that can quench the reactive oxygen species artemisinin depends on, potentially reducing artemisinin's pro-oxidant effect.
Recommendation: Avoid taking high-dose NAC alongside artemisinin if the goal is artemisinin's oxidative activity, separating their use or discussing timing with a clinician.
Curcumin has been studied as a complementary partner to artemisinin, with preclinical data suggesting added antiparasitic and pro-oxidant effects.
Recommendation: If combining, treat the curcumin as adjunctive and monitor, recognizing the pairing is supported mainly by preclinical evidence.
Berberine and artemisinin have shown complementary antiparasitic and antimicrobial activity in some preclinical studies, supporting a tentative synergistic rationale.
Recommendation: May be combined with monitoring, recognizing the supporting evidence is largely preclinical and limited.
Numbered references. Citations throughout the page link here.
Wang Q, Zou Y, Pan Z et al.. Efficacy and Safety of Artemisinin-Piperaquine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in pharmacology. 2020
Mathenge PG, Low SK, Vuong NL et al.. Efficacy and resistance of different artemisinin-based combination therapies: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Parasitology international. 2020
Cochrane review of 19 RCTs (2874 patients) found intramuscular artemether probably results in fewer deaths than quinine in adults (RR 0.59) and is as effective in children. Artemether is inferior to artesunate in adults.
Visser BJ, Wieten RW, Kroon D et al.. Efficacy and safety of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for non-falciparum malaria: a systematic review. Malaria journal. 2014
Pérez del Villar L, Burguillo FJ, López-Abán J et al.. Systematic review and meta-analysis of artemisinin based therapies for the treatment and prevention of schistosomiasis. PloS one. 2012
RCT of 540 Kenyan children found praziquantel plus artesunate-mefloquine and praziquantel plus dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine were non-inferior to praziquantel alone for treating S. mansoni infection.
Artemisinin derivatives show broad-spectrum antitumor activities via ROS production, cell cycle inhibition, apoptosis induction, and angiogenesis inhibition.
Li X, Feng J, Yuan Y et al.. Acute and subacute oral toxicity of artemisinin-hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets in beagle dogs. Drug and chemical toxicology. 2023
Clinical trials provide encouraging evidence for artemisinin anticancer activity; safety studies show no evident toxicity and low adverse effects incidence.
The 2015 Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor Youyou Tu for artemisinin discovery; the drug has saved millions of lives as antimalarial treatment.
Large clinical studies did not show serious side effects, but paucity of large-scale trials means a definitive safety statement cannot yet be made for prolonged use.
Artemisinin compounds show neurotoxicity in animal models at high parenteral doses but appear virtually void of serious side effects in humans; oral route has rapid clearance.
Artemisinin acts via two-step mechanism: first activated by intraparasitic heme-iron which cleaves the endoperoxide bridge, then the resulting free radical kills the parasite.
This page is educational. Do not start, stop, or change a supplement or medication based on it without checking with a qualified healthcare professional.
Use this with your stack
Add it to your stack, see how it interacts with everything else you take, and get a Stack Score that updates the moment it does.
NutriStack is an informational and organizational tool, not a medical service, and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.
NutriStack