10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12 Volume 3 Issue 4 2012(October - December) According to WHO artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) is the only reliable treatment option for multidrug resistant lessThan i greaterThan Plasmodium falciparum lessThan /i greaterThan malaria and to control the spread of the disease under its global malaria eradication programmes. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide isolated from lessThan i greaterThan Artemisia annua lessThan /i greaterThan plants belonging to family Asteraceae. Artemisinin and its derivatives are found to be effective against schistosomiasis, breast cancer, human lukaemia, colon cancer and lung carcinomas. Low yield of artemisinin in lessThan i greaterThan A. annua lessThan /i greaterThan plants (0.01-0.8%, in some strains 1.5%) is a serious limitation to meet the annual targets of the drug (approximately 115-135 tonnes) for ACT treatments. The present review covers the biosynthesis of artemisinin and various approaches to increase artemisinin content in lessThan i greaterThan A. annua lessThan /i greaterThan plants and new researches on heterologous expression systems. SUGANDHA TIWARI Artemisia annua, ACT : artemisinin based combination therapy, Plasmodium falciparum malaria, heterologous expression 686-696