text: The first interest was on chángshān, the root extract of Dichroa febrifuga. In the 1940s, Chinese scientists had shown that it was effective against different species of Plasmodium. American scientists isolated febrifugine as its major active antimalarial compound. The project scientists confirmed the antimalarial activity but found it unsuitable for human use due to its overwhelming potency and toxicity, outrivaling that of quinine. After the project, the compound remained under investigation, with attempts to discover suitable derivatives, among which halofuginone is an effective drug against malaria, cancer, fibrosis and inflammatory disease.