Advances in the Chemical Synthesis of Artemisinin

Abstract Artemisinin, existing in the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua L., is a kind of sesquiterpenoid lactone endoperoxide. It has received extensive attention from all over the world owing to its unusual trioxane structure and potent antimalarial properties. Here we demonstrate the complete chemical synthetic pathway of artemisinin, investigated the past three decades, including the total and partial syntheses.