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Artemisia afra, a controversial herbal remedy or a treasure trove of new
drugs?Anneke du Toit, Frank van der Kooy
Ethnoparmacological relevance:
Artemisia afra is one of the most widely used herbal remedies in South Africa. This
highly aromatic shrub is used to treat various disorders including coughs, colds, influenza, and malaria. Due to
the long tradition of use and popularity of A. afra, it has been successfully commercialised and can currently be
bought from various internet stores and pharmacies. The most notable indication is for the prophylaxis and
treatment of Plasmodium falciparum infections. In 2013, the Medicine Control Council (MCC) of South Africa
banned the sale of A. afra for the treatment of malaria because it lacks scientific evidence of efficacy. This
resulted in a lawsuit being filed in 2017 against the MCC by an herbal company which claimed that artemisinin
was responsible for A. afra’s antiplasmodial activity. At the time, no scientific literature reported that A. afra
contained artemisinin
