China's Tu Youyou, Nobel Laureate in Medicine 2015, and Relationships with the TCM Research Center Graz at the Medical University

Abstract

For the first time in history, the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2015 was awarded to a researcher who is specialized in traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese Tu Youyou received this highest award in medicine for her excellent work in malaria research. Tu Youyou and her team found out that artemisinin, the active ingredient of the medicinal herb ‘sweet wormwood', represents an effective malaria therapy. In the following article, the research that led to this Nobel Prize is introduced. In addition, the insidious tropical disease malaria will be explained briefly. Results of the research on moxibustion using Artemisia are also presented in this article; these studies were carried out at the TCM Research Center Graz, partly in close cooperation with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the institution of the Nobel Prize winner.