ArticleParasites & vectors2017
Plasmodium falciparum uses vitamin E to avoid oxidative stress.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Malaria on Blood Levels of Vitamin E: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Oxidative stress in malaria and typhoid fever: A scoping review of the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic implications.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Review
- Characterization of Domiphen Bromide as a New Fast-Acting Antiplasmodial Agent Inhibiting the Apicoplastidic Methyl Erythritol Phosphate Pathway.Pharmaceutics · 2022Article
- Oxidative Stress in Malaria: Potential Benefits of Antioxidant Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Lipid droplets of protozoan parasites: survival and pathogenicity.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2022Article
- Exploring the Role of Antioxidants to Combat Oxidative Stress in Malaria Parasites.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2022Article
- Presence of Phylloquinone in the Intraerythrocytic Stages ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Critical Insight into Plausible Acquired Tocopherol Pathway in Neglected Human Trypanosomatids.ACS omega · 2021Review
- The apicoplast link to fever-survival and artemisinin-resistance in the malaria parasite.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Review
- Prenylquinones in Human Parasitic Protozoa: Biosynthesis, Physiological Functions, and Potential as Chemotherapeutic Targets.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
- Tocopherol biosynthesis inFEBS open bio · 2019Article
- Natural 6-hydroxy-chromanols and -chromenols: structural diversity, biosynthetic pathways and health implications.RSC advances · 2018Review
- Vitamin E Biosynthesis and Its Regulation in Plants.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Review
- The Effect of Alpha-Tocopherol on the Expression of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and Transforming Growth Factor Beta Genes in Three Developmental Stages ofIranian journal of parasitologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPlasmodium falciparum is sensitive to oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo, and many drugs such as artemisinin, chloroquine and cercosporin interfere in the parasite's redox system. To minimize the damage caused by reactive radicals, antioxidant enzymes and their substrates found in parasites and in erythrocytes must be functionally active. It was shown that P. falciparum synthesizes vitamin E and that usnic acid acts as an inhibitor of its biosynthesis. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects polyunsaturated fatty acids from lipid peroxidation, and this activity can be measured by detecting its oxidized product and by evaluating reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels.
resultsHere, we demonstrated that ROS levels increased in P. falciparum when vitamin E biosynthesis was inhibited by usnic acid treatment and decreased to basal levels if exogenous vitamin E was added. Furthermore, we used metabolic labelling to demonstrate that vitamin E biosynthesized by the parasite acts as an antioxidant since we could detect its radiolabeled oxidized product. The treatment with chloroquine or cercosporin of the parasites increased the ratio between α-tocopherolquinone and α-tocopherol.
conclusionsOur findings demonstrate that vitamin E produced endogenously by P. falciparum is active as an antioxidant, probably protecting the parasite from the radicals generated by drugs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.