An Antimalarial Effect in vitro of Parapyruvic Acid

Abstract

Summary

When the erythrocytic forms of Plasmodium lophurae were maintained extracellularly in vitro the addition of parapyruvate at concentrations down to 25 μg per ml increased the proportion of degenerate parasites present after one day's incubation. In cultures with intracellular parasites in suspensions of intact duck erythrocytes, the addition of the parapyruvate at concentrations down to 8 μg per ml decreased sharply the numbers of parasites present after two days' incubation. Somewhat higher concentrations also interfered with the reinvasion of erythrocytes by merozoites formed in such cultures. No antimalarial effect was observed when the compound was administered intravenously to ducklings infected with P. lophurae