Insights into the Relation between Oxidative Stress and Malaria: A Mechanistic and Therapeutic Approach

The mortality rate due to malaria has increased tremendously in the last decade. Even though the causative agent of this disease is known, the preventive measures are not potent enough to control the spread of this disease. Malarial infection involves a strong interrelationship between oxidative stress and pathogenesis. This review addresses the various oxidative stress-related mechanisms associated with vector defense, host immunity, plasmodial pathogenesis, and corresponding therapeutic strategies. The mechanisms involving host and vector defense show both similarity and contradiction to the processes involving plasmodial pathogenesis under different circumstances. Therefore, corresponding ameliorative peculiarities are observed in the therapeutic mechanisms adopted by the anti-malarial drugs. The malarial parasite augments oxidative stress to weaken the host and exerts antioxidant effects against host defense mechanisms. However, the anti-malarial drugs induce oxidative insult to reduce parasitic load and exert antioxidant effects against parasite infection-induced oxidative stress in host. Thus, the anti-malarial drugs exhibit antioxidant activity in hosts and/or pro-oxidant activity in parasites.