Development of value added tea bags and capsules of Artemisia Annua Anamed (A3) whole plant for malaria treatment

Abstract

Malaria is one of the most serious diseases of global public health importance. Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) has been adopted as the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Nigeria. However, ACTs are expensive; hence the need for production of Artemisia plants as a local alternative. Artemisia Annua Anamed (A-3) cultivar seeds were obtained from REAP in Kenya and propagated in Ilorin, Nigeria; based on the guidelines of Anamed International, REAP and WHO for growing, harvesting, and processing to value added products. Propagation to budding/harvesting took 4 months and fresh leaves were processed to dark green dried leaves which was developed to value added products of tea bags and powdered capsules following the Noble Icon NAFDAC approved procedures and equipment; and Now Food University in USA procedures and equipment respectively. Each tea bag of A-3 contained 2.5g of pulverized dried leaves while each capsule contained 500mg of powdered dried leaves based on Anamed International dosage recommendations. Several studies supported the use of artemisia annua tea and capsules for the treatment of malaria pointing out that flavonoids existing in the leaves and stem considerably enhance the interest of its tea preparation and powdered leave capsules that are usable for rectal administration. It is recommended that there is the need to train the rural community people who are already using herbal medicine; and unable to reach or afford costly pharmaceutical ACT in the growing and development of the dried A-3 leaves as herb tea for malaria prevention and treatment. There is also the need for further studies to determine the active contents in the developed herb tea and the powdered capsules in order to be able to use them for treating malaria.

Key Words: Artemisia Annua Anamed, Herb Tea, Capsules, Malaria, Whole Plant