ABSTRACT
The directly utilizable energy source for the intraerythrocytic stages of the malarial parasite is glucose; glucose is readily metabolized by the infected red cell, often at rates of about 100 times that of the uninfected red cell. Parasite-infected red cells also show enhanced O2 uptake with glucose by comparison with uninfected red cells, and the favourable effects of low O2 levels on the in vitro growth of infected cells suggest that the parasite is microaerophilic. There is suggestive evidence for a citric acid cycle in avian Plasmodium, but only malate dehydrogenase has been confirmed in the mammalian parasite. It has been proposed that the citric acid ‘cycle’ of the mammalian parasite branches at the level of oxaloacetate. Comprehensive reviews on the metabolism of Plasmodium have been given by Sherman (1979, 1983a, b; and see Chapter 2).
