Tu then decided to look to the ancient texts and folk manuals for guidance, not to mention making her way to the more remote areas of the country for additional clues. All in all, her careful and observant work resulted in the collection of 2,000 potential remedies, where she had to thin that ridiculously large figure down to a “mere” 380. From there, she tested each potential cure on individual mice, and realized that one of the compounds which were derived from sweet wormwood actually reduced the number of malaria parasites in the mouse’s blood. This treatment was first recorded 1,600 years ago in China, where one was recommended to drink juice extracted from the plant.
After her hard work, it resulted in the drug known as artemisinin, which is now the best defense against malaria for humans. Still, malaria claims close to half a million people each year, but for Tu’s hard work, she picked up a Nobel Prize for medicine this week. I wonder what medicinal secrets do the tombs of the Pharaohs hold until today?