However, it constitutes an important structural element of some more complex organic compounds.

The natural compound artemisinin, isolated from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua), and some semi-synthetic derivatives are important antimalarial drugs containing the 1,2,4-trioxane ring.

Completely synthetic analogs containing the 1,2,4-trioxane ring are important potential improvements over the naturally derived artemisinins.

[1] The peroxide group in the 1,2,4-trioxane core of artemisinin is cleaved in the presence of the malaria parasite leading to reactive oxygen radicals that are damaging to the parasite.

This article about a hypothetical chemical compound is a stub.