Artesunate is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, a sesquiterpene trioxane lactone isolated from the herb Artemisia annua L.This medicinal plant has been used as a remedy for fevers and chills for centuries in China.Artesunate is a clinically effective drug for both uncomplicated and severe malaria.We have recently found that artesunate may be effective for allergy, asthma and COPD.We reported for the first time that artesunate effectively reduced ovalbumin-induced inflammatory cell recruitment into bronchoalveolar fluid, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and eotaxin production, pulmonary eosinophilia, mucus hypersecretion and airway hyperresponsiveness in a mouse asthma model probably via inhibition of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway [Cheng et al.(2011) PLoS ONE 6 : e20932].Artesunate significantly suppressed ovalbumin-induced increases in oxidative damage markers 8-isoprostane, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine and 3-nitrotyrosine levels, and pro-oxidants iNOS and NADPH oxidase (NOX 1, 2, 3 and 4) expression.Besides, artesunate markedly suppressed passive cutaneous anaphylaxis, passive systemic anaphylaxis, ovalbumin-induced mast cell degranulation in the airways and serum histamine level, and IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation, probably mediated through reduction of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and intracellular Ca2 + levels.Furthermore, artesunate was able to ameliorate pulmonary cell infiltration in a cigarette smoke induced COPD mouse model.Taken together, our results clearly demonstrate broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory effects of artesunate in mouse models of asthma, allergy and COPD by inhibiting PI3K/Akt and IP3/Ca2+ signaling pathways.Our present findings support a novel therapeutic use of artesunate in the treatment of allergy, asthma and COPD.