They are undeniable the most important anti-malarial drugs to be discovered in the last 50 years

Professor Nick White

Professor White, who has worked in south-east Asia for over 20 years, says the discovery provides a new weapon in the drugs arsenal against malaria.

In total, around 25,000 people have been involved in trials in Thailand and Africa.

'Fast and efficient'

Malaria kills one person every 30 seconds - adding up to one to two million deaths a year.

Professor White believes artemisinin should be urgently introduced in east Africa, where most of the deaths from malaria occur.

Malaria kills up to two million people a year

"By the mid-1990s, it looked as if we were going to be facing untreatable malaria before the end of the millennium."

But doctors began to evaluate combination treatments, using artemisinin.

All combinations were effective in curing malaria, said Professor White but, used together, artemisinin and mesloquine were 95% effective.

The number of cases in the camps was reduced by 90% because drugs prevented the transmission from person to person.

"They are undeniable the most important anti-malarial drugs to be discovered in the last 50 years," he said.

When the drug is used to treat people who already have malaria, it is fast and efficient, with no side effects.

Parasite mutation

Tuberculosis and Aids are already treated using combination therapy.

Professor White said using two drugs together would mean if the malaria parasite was resistant to one drug, the other should work.

The malaria parasite mutates so that the forms which are unaffected by mesloquine survive, he said.

"Resistance occurs because of a spontaneous mutation in the genes of the parasite.

"These are rare events but if they give the parasite the property of being resistant then they are selecting their own survival because all the other parasites will be killed."

Larger scale trials are now taking place on the Thailand border and the World Health Organization, which has a global aim to tackle malaria, is also involved in trials of the drug in Africa and Asia.

Professor White said: "They are going to see if these excellent results can be replicated. So far it's looking good."

The plant would be very difficult to synthesise, but there is enough being grown for current needs and some expansion.

It could also be grown in other countries, said Professor White, perhaps in southern Europe.