ABSTRACT
Mohammed Rahmatullah,1,a,* Taufi q Rahman2 and Rownak Jahan1
Human beings have been affl icted with malaria since antiquity (WHO 1986). The disease is caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted through bites by female mosquitoes belonging to the genus Anopheles. Four sub-species of Plasmodium can cause malaria in humans; the sub-species are Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale. Ninety per cent of known human deaths are caused by P. falciparum. When the parasites enter the blood stream through mosquito bites, they infect and destroy red blood cells leading to fever and other symptoms such as chills, muscle ache, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a feeling of tiredness. In cases of uncomplicated malaria the symptoms are present but there are no signs of severity or vital organ dysfunction. Severe malaria, which is only caused by P. falciparum can lead to coma, severe respiratory problems, and severe anemia and can ultimately lead to death. It is estimated that 300-500 million malaria infections occur on an annual basis and 90% of these infections happen in sub-Saharan Africa (Bodeker 2004). About 58% of malaria deaths occur in the poorest 20% of the population (Barat 2002). 1Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, House No. 78, Road No. 11A (new), Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh. aE-mail: rahamatm@hotmail.com 2Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, CB2 1PD, Cambridge, UK. *Corresponding author
Quinine was the fi rst anti-malarial drug isolated from a natural source-the bark of the Cinchona tree. The Cinchona genera belongs to the Rubiaceae family and consists of 23 species, the most important among them being Cinchona ledgeriana of Bolivia, C. succirubra of Ecuador, and C. offi cinalis of Ecuador and Peru. Quinine is an alkaloid; in addition to quinine, the cinchona bark contains three other anti-malarial components, namely, quinidine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine. Administration of quinine can cause cinchonism (Wolf et al. 1992). The most common symptoms include development of rashes, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and hearing impairment (tinnitus). The most common anti-malarial drug used is chloroquine, a synthetic derivative of quinine. Chloroquine can cause itching and can worsen psoriasis (Vestey and Savin 1992). Moreover, this drug is rapidly losing its signifi cance because of the emergence of chloroquine-resistant strains of P. falciparum and P. vivax (Quashie et al. 2007, Price et al. 2009).
