Page - (000332) - in Biomedical Chemistry: Current Trends and Developments

disease with symptoms consistent with those of malaria date back to 2700 BC from imperial China. During this period traditional Chinese medical practitioners discovered the use of sweet wormwood (Artemesia annua) to treat this mysterious fever. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet Quechuas from South America used the bark of the cinchona tree in the treatment of similar fevers. Jesuit monks brought this bark from the new world and introduced its powerful medicinal properties to Europe during the 17th century, however, the active component, quinine, was not isolated until 1820 (Faurant, 2011). Quinine is known for several unpleasant and potentially severe adverse reactions including cinchonism, hearing impairment, increased risk of hemolysis in G6PD deficient patients, and is linked to a severe syndrome in some patients, dubbed blackwater fever. Modern efforts suggest the latter may be the result of redox active metabolites (Marcsisin, 2013). As we will explore, many of the ongoing efforts in anti-malarial therapy revolve around not only circumventing resistance, but in mitigating many of the safety risks associated with historically used drugs. These reasons and the outbreak of war in malaria endemic regions of the world led to a surge of interest in the development of safe and effective drugs to treat malaria that we will explore further. 3.4.3 Post World War II and the Development of Synthetic Anti-malarials “Doctor […] this shall be a long war if for every division I have facing the enemy I must count on a second division in the hospital with malaria and a third division convalescing from this debilitating disease!” Thus opined Gen. Douglas MacArthur concerning the ravages of malaria during the second world war (Coates, 1963). This constant struggle with non-combat related injury from disease was a tremendous burden on medical logistical chains, morale, and overall readiness on fronts across Africa, Asia, and even in parts of Europe. This reality was a major shaping force for a massive effort to prevent and treat malaria. During WWI, Germany had no access to quinine. As a result, a large- scale effort ensued in the intervening years between WWI and WWII in