Artesunate

Semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin. Anti-malaria. Anti-schistosomiasis. Inhibitor of human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Apoptosis inducer. Anti-cancer. Immunosuppressant. Inhibits production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and nitric oxide (NO). Functional ARX inhibitor. Enhancer of GABAA signalling. Targets Gephyrin. Inducer of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity (25fold), the rate limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Sown to have anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity with an EC50 of 12.98 ± 5.30µM, and beeing potentially useful in the treatment of COVID-19.