Artemisia Annua Infusion for the Treatment of Asymptomatic Plasmodium Falciparum Infection

NCT07819825 | Not Yet Recruiting Phase 1

• 1 other identifier: SRC-2024-04
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether Artemisia annua dried leaves, used as an infusion, can treat individuals with malaria parasites but no symptoms. The main question it aims to answer is: Can Artemisia annua infusion be used to treat malaria? Researchers will compare those receiving Artemisia annua infusion with those receiving an infusion of Centaurii herba (which has no effect on malaria parasites) to see whether all individuals treated with Artemisia annua infusion are cured, which should not be the case for those receiving Centaurii herba infusion. Participants will

• drink Artemisia annua infusion over seven days (three days at our research centre and four days at their home
• visit the research centre once a week for three weeks after treatment for one month for safety reasons

Conditions

Asymptomatic P.Falciparum Malaria

Keywords

Plasmodium falciparum; Artemisia annua; infusion

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number of participants in whom the parasitaemia was cleared

  No parasites detected in the thick blood smear (microscopic method)

  On day 7 from the first day of treatment

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Number of participants cured

  From the last day of treatment (day 7) to the end of the follow-up period on day 28

• Number of adverse events

  From the first day of treatment (enrolment) to the end of the treatment period on day 7

Study Arms (2)

Artemisia arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Drug: Artemisia Annua Leaf

Control arm

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Drug: Centaurii herba

Interventions

Artemisia Annua Leaf DRUG

Dried Artemisia annua leaves will be used to prepare an infusion by adding 5 mg of dried leaves to 1 litre of boiled water. The mixture will be left to stand for 15 minutes, then stirred and strained before being administered to the participant. Participants will receive 1 litre of this infusion (prepared each morning) per day for seven consecutive days. The research team will administer the daily dose in three splits at 8-hour intervals.

Artemisia arm

Centaurii herba DRUG

The research team will prepare one litre of 'Herba Centaurii' infusion every morning, which will be given to the participants in three splits every 8 hours, under the supervision of the research team for seven consecutive days.

Also known as: Centaurium erythrea

Control arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age: 18 to 45 years
• Absence of fever (body temperature \<37.5ºC axillary or \<38.0°C oral, rectal or tympanic temperature)
• Asymptomatic P. falciparum infection with parasitemia between 500 and 2,000 asexual P. falciparum parasites per μl of blood
• Have been living in an endemic area for at least 5 years.
• Written informed consent from the participant
• Residence in the vicinity of the study centre
• Willingness to comply with the follow-up schedule

You may not qualify if:

• History of fever over the last 72 hours
• Non-Plasmodium falciparum infection
• Intake of any antimalarial drug or antibiotic with antimalarial activity within the previous 28 days and/or after half-life time
• Presence of signs and symptoms related by the medical doctor to malaria
• Known history or evidence of clinically significant medical disorders
• Severe malnutrition
• Haemoglobin concentration \<7 g/dL
• Known hypersensitivity and contraindications to any study medication
• Pregnancy or lactation
• Participation in other interventional studies

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre de Recherche Médicale de Lambaréné: lead
• Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tuebingen: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné

Lambaréné, Gabon, BP: 242, Gabon

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Malaria, Falciparum

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Malaria; Protozoan Infections; Parasitic Diseases; Infections; Mosquito-Borne Diseases; Vector Borne Diseases

Study Officials

• Steffen Borrmann, Prof.

  Institut für Tropenmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 27, 72074 Tübingen, Germany

  STUDY CHAIR

• Ayôla Akim Adegnika, Prof.

  Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Jean Claude Dejon Agobé, MD

CONTACT

0024177989191; jcagobe@cermel.org

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 1
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2026
• First Posted: September 15, 2026
• Study Start: September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027
• Last Updated: September 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

GA (1)