Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, a powerful antimalarial compound, through research that drew on traditional Chinese medical texts.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Tu led a research team searching for treatments against malaria. The team investigated many plants and eventually focused on sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua. An early extraction method damaged the active compound, but Tu found that using a low-temperature process preserved its effectiveness.
Artemisinin-based combination therapies became central tools against malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Tu shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura.
Artemisinin is not itself a complete modern treatment in every setting; it is generally used in combination with another antimalarial drug to reduce resistance.