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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 153 Sasithon Pukrittayakamee, Arjen Dondorp World War (Figure 3). At present quinine remains an important and effective treatment for malaria in most parts of the world, although resistance has been reported sporadically. Intravenous quinine is used as an alternative regimen to artesunate for treatment of severe malaria. Artesunate has proven to be superior in preventing death from severe malaria, but is not yet generally available throughout the tropical world. Quinine remains at present the first line anti-malarial regimen for first trimester pregnant patients. The Discovery of Artemisinin The discovery of Quin-Ghao was part of a series of complex historical processes in Chinese medicine (Table 2). The blue-green herb has been used by Chinese herbalists for more than a thousand years for treatment of a variety of illnesses (Willcox et al, 2004). The earliest record of Quin-Ghao dates back to 200 BC, in the çFifty-two Prescriptionsé unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs. In 340 AD, the anti-fever properties of Quin-Ghao were first described by Ge Hong (284-363) in the East Yin Dynasty (Figure. 4). Related to Chinaûs cultural heritage which did not promote scientific progress during the centuries to follow, it took another 1.6 thousand years for the rediscovery of Quin-Ghao in the early 1970s. The drug remained largely unknown to the rest of the world for the following decade The early results of human trials were published in a local Chinese language journal, the Chinese Medical Journal, in 1979. The first international publication on artimisinin as an effective anti-malarial drug was published in Lancet 1982 (Jiang et al, 1982). Pharmaceutical production of marketable drugs began in 1986. Many active derivatives of artemisinin have since been synthesized and it is today the most potent and effective known antimalarial drug, particularly against drug resistant malaria in many areas of Southeast Asia (Hien & White, 1993). The World Health Organization (WHO) started to investigate artemisinin and its derivatives in the early 1990s and has promoted them on a large scale since 2004. Although it has taken Quin-Ghao 33 years to gain full WHO recognition, it is now the treatment of choice in the 2006 and 2011 WHO treatment guideline for both uncomplicated falciparum malaria (as ACT) and severe malaria. The rediscovery of artemisinin derivative is an astounding success for both modern and traditional medical science. 150-159_mac9 4/26/12, 9:20 PM 153