Curcumin for malaria therapy
Malaria remains a major global health concern. New, inexpensive, and effective antimalarial agents are urgently needed. Here we show that curcumin, a polyphenolic organic molecule derived from turmeric, inhibits chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum growth in culture in a dose dependent manner with an IC50 of ∼5 μM. Additionally, oral administration of curcumin to mice infected with malaria parasite (Plasmodium berghei) reduces blood parasitemia by 80–90% and enhances their survival significantly. Thus, curcumin may represent a novel treatment for malarial infection.
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Fleming Research Institute of Life Sciences will...
