Artemisinin and its derivatives have been used for the treatment of malarial and parastic worm (helminth) infections. They have the advantage over other drugs in having an ability to kill faster and kill all the life cycle stages of the parasites.But low bioavailability, poor pharmacokinetic properties and high cost of the drugs are major drawbacks of their use.Use of the drug by itself as a monotherapy is explicitly discouraged by the World Health Organization,as there have been signs that malarial parasites are developing resistance to the drug. Therapies that combine artemisinin or its derivatives with some other antimalarial drug are the preferred treatment for malaria.