The mode of action of antimalarial endoperoxides

The mechanism of action of artemisinin appears to involve two steps. In the first step, activation, intra-parasitic iron catalyses the cleavage of the endoperoxide bridge and the generation of free radicals. In the second step, alkylation, the artemisinin-derived free radical forms covalent bonds with parasite proteins.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31511/1/0000433.pd