Researchers from LaTrobe University of Australia have found a new combination drug for combating Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for causing malaria. They used a combination of Chloroquine and Primaquine for treatment helps in killing P. falciparum which is resistant to Chloroquine drug.
Chloroquine is a largely used drug in the treatment of malaria since 1950s. Chloroquine works by blocking the way the parasite breaks down human hemoglobin contained in red blood cells, the drug has to remain in a crystallized form to kill the parasite and an effective concentration of the drug has to accumulate in the digestive tract of the parasite in order to kill it. Due to indiscriminate abuse of Chloroquine the parasite has started to produce resistance to the drug, the parasit e can effectively neutralize the drug by developing a mechanism by which it drains the drug, so that the crystal form is not retained so the neutralized drug drains through the pores present in the digestive system with out forming considerable amount of the drug so which it does not have any effect on the parasite. So, the drug Chloroquine cures the symptoms but not the infection.Researchers have tried to combine Chloroquine with Primaquine, a combination which would help to kill Chloroquine resistant parasites. Primaquine alone does not have any considerable effective activity on the parasite, but it acts by blocking the pores on the surface of the parasites digestive tract, so that this drug blocks the pores in the digestive tract, thereby does not allow the drug Chloroquine to drain.
Researcher Dr Leann Tilley said,
