Dosing
Artemisinin derivatives have half-lives of the order of an hour, and therefore require at least daily dosing over several days. For example, the WHO-approved adult dose of co-artemether (artemether-lumefantrine) is 4 tablets at 0, 8, 24, 36, 48 and 60 hours (six doses).
Artemisinin is not soluble in water, therefore Artemisia annua tea was postulated not to contain pharmacologically significant amounts of artemesinin. However, this conclusion was rebuked by several experts who stated that hot water (85 °C), and not boiling water, should be used to prepare the tea. Although Artemisia tea is not recommended as a substitute for the ACT (artemisinin combination therapies), more clinical studies on its tea preparation have been suggested.
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