When Were Antimalarial Drugs Invented?

The antimalarial activity of these compounds was discovered in the 1940s, when they were synthesized and tested as part of an effort to develop a synthetic replacement for quinine. Several drugs in this class, including menoctone, have gone on to human testing, but further development proved unwarranted.

When was the first antimalarial drug?

Infusions of Cinchona bark provided the first effective cure for malaria in the early 1600s and were used widely for centuries. Quinine, isolated from the Cinchona bark in 1820, was to become the first identified antimalarial drug.

How first antimalarial drug has been discovered?

In the early 1970s, initial testing by Chinese scientists of Qinghao extracts in mice infected with malaria showed it to be as effective as chloroquine and quinine in clearing the parasite. Mao Tse Tung's scientists then began testing in humans and in 1979 published their findings in the Chinese Medical Journal.