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Compararive osmotic fragility of erythrocyte genotypes (HBAA, HBAS and HBSS) of male subjects administered antimalarial drugs
Abstract
chloroquine phosphate). Clinically confirmed healthy non-malarious and malarious male subjects/volunteers enrolled for this study. Erythrocytes obtained from these individuals were suspended in two separate sets of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solutions of
decreasing concentrations in the following order: 0.9, 0.7, 0.6, 0.4, 0.3 and 0.2 g/100 ml. Spectrophotometric method was used to determine the level of erythrocyte osmotic fragility. The mean (± S.D) MCF values of the three genotypes were in the order: HbAAthere was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the MCF values of HbAA and HbAS erythrocytes. Comparatively, parasitized erythrocytes exhibited significantly (p<0.05) increased MCF values. The five antimalarial drugs were agents of red cell destabilization in both categories of subjects/volunteers. However, the overall capacities of the drugs to perturb erythrocyte stability diminished as the experimental time progressed. The findings of the present study suggest that substances implicated to have compromised/distorted the
redox equilibrium of the red cells are agents of membrane destabilization.