Artemisinin, called qinghaosu in China where it was first discovered, is thought to account for the antimalarial activity of the plant.^{3, 4} This compound is a sesquiterpene lactone and is believed to cause damage to the organisms that cause malaria inside the red blood cells they infect. Preliminary and double-blind trials, have shown that injections or oral use of artemisinin or similar compounds rapidly and effectively cure people with malaria.⁵ A human trial has also found that artemisinin reduced mortality due to malaria by 50% compared with treatment with a standard quinoline anti-malarial drug.⁶ Artemisinin-based drugs have not been studied for prevention of malaria. Test tube studies suggest artemisinin can kill other parasites and bacteria,⁷ possibly supporting the traditional notion of using it for parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract.