The sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) is one of the most ancient herbs used by the Chinese and Europeans for millennia. In 2015, the Chinese Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for isolating the sweet wormwood’s active ingredient, artemisinin, which cured malaria with 100% efficiency.

Now, a Hungarian university would like to make food supplements using that herb in cooperation with Uzbekistan, where the physical production would be realised.

According to Világgazdaság, the development of new food supplements has already begun at the University of Debrecen. In the Hungarian-Uzbek joint R+D+I project, scientists measure how the amount of active ingredients in the herb varies depending on the soil and weather it grows in. In the project, they included not only the sweet wormwood but also the garden sage (Salvia officialis). 

They will compare the effect of the extracts of the active compounds with animal testing. The Uzbek participant in the project is the Pharmaceutical Institute of Tashkent, while its industrial partner is Meditop Pharmaceutical Ltd. The Hungarian-Uzbek cooperation already started developing the products. They would like to make antiseptic and anti-inflammatory capsules, pastilles, hydrogel, ointment, ear drops, mouthwash, or plaster. The new products would not be considered drugs but food supplements.

Now, they are working on making prototypes. The road to mass production from the prototypes is still long, and it is not certain that all prototypes will be eligible for mass production. The products would be made in Uzbekistan with the Hungarian know-how. 

Production will take place in Uzbekistan

According to the dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Debrecen, Ildikó Bácskay, the Uzbek partner would like to create an industrial park similar to the one operating at the university. The University of Debrecen has a pilot lab and a medium-sized plant where they can develop mass production. Since both governments support the project, the dean hopes their cooperation might be extended to develop and produce e.g. bacteriophage-based meds.

FM Péter Szijjártó and his Uzbek counterpart, Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, announced in 2023 that the Uzbeks would like to create a special industrial zone for Hungarian companies. Woodworm species used for multiple purposes The hundreds of species of woodworm are present in the traditional medicine of several cultures and peoples. For example, Amerindians used Artemisia ludoviciana to reduce fever. In the Hungarian monasteries, the Artemisia absinthinum was used, while many believed that members of the Templar Order lived long because they regularly consumed an extract of Artemisia annua. The latter was also part of traditional Chinese medicine, which is how Tu Youyou discovered a reference to it in ancient texts and could later isolate its active compound, winning the Nobel Prize in 2015. The isolated artemisinin can help patients suffering from malaria and is also used in anticancer therapy in many countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was used to improve the condition of patients struggling with breathing.