Artemisia annua L.(qinghao) is an annual herb native of Asia and this plant was famous for the discovery of the anti-malarial drug artemisinin since 1971.It has been the subject of intensive phytochemical investigation following the discovery of the anti-malarial drug artemisinin over the past three decades.Artemisinin is an oxidized sesquiterpene lactone and contains a lactone group and an endoperoxide moiety that is rare in secondary metabolites.Other sesquiterpenes, known from this species, such as artemisinic acid, dihydroartemisinic acid and arteannuin B have also been detected in the aerial parts of the plant, in particular in the leaves, stems, buds and flowers.