Methods for assessment of antimalarial activity in the different phases of the life cycle

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by parasites of the genus . In humans, parasites multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells. The life cycle consists of a sexual phase in the mosquito vector (sporogony) and an asexual phase in the vertebrate host (schizogony); both life cycle phases can be detected in assays. In general, and are the two basic approaches routinely used to evaluate the antimalarial activity of compounds. The antimalarial activity measured in an test results from a variety of factors associated with both the parasite and the host. Conversely, tests reflect more accurately the "isolated" effects of the compounds on parasite metabolism. assessment of antiplasmodial activity can be achieved using rodent models and by assessing transmission-blocking activity using mosquitoes. There are several tests for the assessment of antimalarial activity based upon observation of parasite development in blood cells through thick films, isotopic assays, quantification of parasite proteins and DNA dye intercalation assays. Besides antimalarial activity, a promising antimalarial compound should also lack toxicity to host cells; the degree of selectivity of a compound towards the malaria parasite includes such assessment. In this manuscript, we intend to summarize the most frequently used methods for assessing the antimalarial activity of compounds in the different stages of the life cycle. Plasmodium Plasmodium in vivo in vitro in vivo in vitro In vivo