The biochemical effects of ascorbic acid co-administration with antimalarial drug in plasmodiasis

Abstract

Malaria is a threat to the lives of below age five children and pregnant women living in sub-Saharan Africa. Oxidative stress is a key factor in malaria pathogenesis and artemisinin-based combination therapy with Vitamin C may protect human host against the toxicity of free radicals. In this study, we examined the alteration in biochemical indices and antioxidant enzymes gene expression in the bone marrow cells of Plasmodium berghei infected mice treated with artemether- lumefantrine and ascorbic acid. Five groups of six mice each categorized as basal control, untreated, ascorbic acid, artemether-lumefantrine and artemether- lumefantrine + ascorbic acid were used for this study. Biochemical assays and analysis of antioxidant enzyme gene expression were carried out. Artemether- lumefantrine co-administration with ascorbic acid resulted in complete parasite clearance day three post- infection; this same group had a nonsignificant increase (p>0.05) in superoxide dismutase activity and a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration of the liver when compared with the artemether-lumefantrine group. Similar trend was observed for H₂O₂ level in erythrocyte lysate. The levels of expression of catalase, Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase genes in the P. berghei infected mice treated with artemether-lumefantrine plus Vitamin C were up-regulated compared with the group treated with lone artemether-lumefantrine. This study has shown that artemetherlumefantrine co-administration with ascorbic acid may be beneficial in P. berghei infected mice because total parasite clearance, decrease in oxidative stress markers and up-regulation in antioxidant enzyme gene expression were observed three days post treatment.