Mechanism of Antimalarial Action of Desferrioxamine B

Abstract

Desferrioxamine B was shown to exhibit potent antimalaria activity. A single bolus injection of lOOmg of desferrioxamine B per kilogram body weight of mice reduced Plasmodium berghei anka parasitemia in CBA mice for 24 hours. Peripheral blood samples of desferrioxamine B-treated mice taken at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after drug administration show gross adverse ultrastructural changes in all developmental stages of the malaria parasite (trophozoites, schizonts and gametocytes) and a reduction in parasite numbers. The iron chelator was also found to function as an inhibitor of heme polymerisation by binding to and immobilising the central ferric ion of parasite-associated heme and hence disrupting heme detoxification into hemozoin It was concluded that desferrioxamine B is active against Plasmodium berghei anka and that iron chelation provides a new possible alternate strategy for the treatment of malaria.