ISHS Acta Horticulturae 502: II WOCMAP Congress Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Part 3: Agricultural Production, Post Harvest Techniques, Biotechnology
NEW HYBRID LINES OF THE ANTIMALARIAL SPECIES ARTEMISIA ANNUA L. |
| Authors: | P.M. de Magalhães, B. Pereira, A. Sartoratto, J. de Oliveira, N. Debrunner |
| Keywords: | Artemisia annua, cultivation, antimalarial |
| Abstract:
Malaria is still one of the greatest causes of mortality in the world; in Brazil there are over 500.000 reported cases each year. Malaria, caused by the protozoon Plasmodium, has been aggravated by the increasing resistance of Plasmodium to the traditional drugs chloroquine and mefloquine. The study of new drugs resulted in the identification of anti-malarial activities of an endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone, called Qinghaosu or Artemisinin, extracted from the leaves of Artemisia annua L., from the Asteraceae family. The research work developed at MEDIPLANT (Switzerland) and CPQBA-UNICAMP (Brazil) involved the selection and breeding of genotypes rich in artemisinin and presenting high biomass followed by a second selection to adaptation to Brazilian climatic conditions. Through controlled hybridization between selected genotypes from China and Vietnam, genetic gain was obtained as artemisinin and population uniformity. Through the increase of biomass and artemisinin content (estimated by analytical monitoring), it was possible to increase the artemisinin production of 5 Kg/ha for the base population to approximately 25 Kg/ha for the genetically bred population. In the cultivation carried out in Brazil, 3 hybrid lines, 2/39 x IV, 1V x 2/39, and Ch x Viet.55, produced respectively 21.38, 19.27 and 15.80 Kg of artemisinin/ha. The cultivation of these new hybrid lines in Brasil is technically viable and highly competitive, due to the production obtained. | |
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