Artesunate is a semisynthetic derivative of artemisinin used to treat malaria. It has also been shown to effective against other parasites such as liver flukes. Artesunate also demonstrates cytotoxic action against cancer cell lines of different tumor types. Artesunate has been shown to inhibit TNF–induced production of proinflammatory cytokines via inhibition of NF-B and PI3 kinase/Akt signal pathway in human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes.