Publications by authors named "Xavier Simonnet"

is used as a source of artemisinin, a potent therapeutic agent used for the treatment of infectious diseases, chiefly malaria. However, the low concentration (from 0.01 to 1.

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Background: In the framework of a breeding programme, the analysis of hundreds of oregano samples to determine their essential oil content (EOC) is time-consuming and expensive in terms of labour. Therefore developing a new method that is rapid, accurate and less expensive to use would be an asset to breeders. The aim of the present study was to develop a method based on near-inrared (NIR) spectroscopy to determine the EOC of oregano dried powder.

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A distinct sobemovirus was isolated from diseased Artemisia annua plants grown in experimental culture plots in Switzerland. Electron microscopy performed on extracts of leaf and root samples of a diseased A. annua plant revealed icosahedral-30 nm viral particles.

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Artemisinin is a natural molecule highly active against malaria. At present, the extraction of this molecule from the leaves of Artemisia annua L. remains the only viable method to produce cheaply large quantities of artemisinin.

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