New cultivation approaches of Artemisia annua L. for a sustainable production of the antimalarial drug artemisinin

Artemisia annua L. is an important medicinal plant from which artemisinin was extracted to treat malaria effectively. Artemisinin is isolated from the aerial part of the A. annua harvesting from the wild is causing loss of genetic diversity and habitat destruction. The use of controlled environments can overcome cultivation difficulties and could be a means to manipulate phenotypic variation in bioactive compounds and toxins. The aim of this review is to bring together most of the available scientific research papers about the cultivation and breeding conducted on the genus A. annua, which is currently scattered across various publications. Through this review the authors hope to attract the attention of all agronomist and breeders throughout the world to focus on the unexplored potential of A. annua species. Also, the future scope of this plant has been emphasized with a view of the importance of cultivation of A. annua for increasing of artemisinin content. New cultivation approach of A. annua offers the opportunity to optimize yield and achieve a uniform, high quality product. Key words: Artemisia annua, breeding, artemisinin, cultivation, medicinal plant.