Curcumin for malaria therapy

Malaria remains a major global health concern. New, inexpensive, and effective antimalarial agents are urgently needed. Here we show that curcumin, a polyphenolic organic molecule derived from turmeric, inhibits chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum growth in culture in a dose dependent manner with an IC 50 of ∼5 μM. Additionally, oral administration of curcumin to mice infected with malaria parasite ( Plasmodium berghei) reduces blood parasitemia by 80–90% and enhances their survival significantly. Thus, curcumin may represent a novel treatment for malarial infection.