Production of Artemisinin In Planta and in Microbial Systems Need Not Be Mutually Exclusive

Artemisia annua L. is an innocuous medicinal plant that is suddenly found at the forefront of global efforts aimed at the eradication of malaria. The plant is also seen as an effective treatment against several other infectious diseases and human cancer cell lines, and this has been correlated with its richness in several bioactive compounds including artemisinin, other sesquiterpenes, and antioxidants. Undoubtedly, this is a development that has drastically increased artemisinin demand worldwide. Up until now, A. annua L. remains the only commercial source for the supply of this vital antimalarial drug to the international market. Recent advances in biotechnology, however, such as have been demonstrated in the production of isoprenoid precursors of artemisinin in yeast, and bacteria are feasible complementary strategies that would help reduce artemisinin cost in the future. The key genes encoding for enzymes regulating the biosynthesis of artemisinin in planta are fully understood to enable metabolic engineering of the pathway, and results from pilot genetic engineering studies in microbial strains thus far are very inspiring. This current treatise, therefore, explores the status of artemisinin and other plant metabolites for use in both human and animal healthcare and highlights the implications of in planta production of artemisinin in comparison with that from synthetic biology. Overall, these two methods need not be mutually exclusive and can be made complementary to each other depending on the location of production. Aside from artemisinin, required for saving the lives of countless patients in malaria-stricken societies, the plant also contains several other secondary metabolites with enormous benefits in the promotion of human and animal health. Consequently, keeping in planta production of artemisinin would play a pivotal role in providing artemisinin for ACTs as well as maintaining profit margins to local and regional economies in countries where malaria is endemic, especially in Africa where A. annua has been cultivated for the past 10 years.