A contemporary chemical entities infiltrating in the antimalarial therapy era: a comprehensive review

Abstract

Malaria, a life-threatening disease, is caused by parasitic single-celled microorganisms. It is specifically transmitted by the anopheles female mosquito of the Plasmodium family. There are a lot of drugs available in the market to treat this life-challenging disease. Chloroquine, a cheaper molecule that is available worldwide, is one of them. Drug resistance has been observed with chloroquine as well as with some other quinine derivatives and with artemisinin derivatives in the southeast region of Asia in countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam country since 1957. After 1970, the drug resistance has been further increased and it has been expanded in several localities of India. Also, antimalarial agents, particularly chloroquine, have so many side effects such as nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headache, appetite loss, deprivation of hearing, skin color change, baldness, reduced body weight, and seizures. Furthermore, this drug cannot be given to pregnant women. Hence, it is the right time to design and develop newer antimalarial agents so that this kind of drug resistance, as well as side effects of the drugs, can be overcome.

Keywords: P. falciparum; clinical trial; drug resistance; malaria; prophylaxis; treatment.