Antimalarial agents

Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cramps, quinine is not recommended for this purpose due to the risk of serious side effects. It can be taken by mouth or intravenously. Malaria resistance to quinine occurs in certain areas of the world. Quinine is also used as an ingredient in tonic water and other beverages to impart a bitter taste.

Cinchona (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly naturalized in Central America, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Sulawesi, Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, and São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of tropical Africa, and others have been cultivated in India and Java, where they have formed hybrids.

Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic of the tetracycline class used in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria and certain parasites. It is used to treat bacterial pneumonia, acne, chlamydia infections, Lyme disease, cholera, typhus, and syphilis, and is sometimes used to prevent malaria. Doxycycline may be taken by mouth or intravenously.

thumb|Azithromycin pills in Europe, with brand name Sumamed. Azithromycin, sold under the brand names Zithromax (in oral form) and Azasite (as an eye drop), is an antibiotic medication used to treat several bacterial infections. These include middle ear infections, strep throat, pneumonia, traveler's diarrhea, sexually transmitted infection, and certain other intestinal infections. Along with other medications, it may also be used for malaria. It is administered by mouth, into a vein, or as topical treatment for the eye.

Artemisinin () and its semisynthetic derivatives are a group of drugs used in the treatment of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum. It was discovered in 1972 by Tu Youyou, who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have become standard treatment worldwide for P. falciparum malaria as well as malaria due to other species of Plasmodium. Artemisinin can be extracted from the herb Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood), which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Alternatively, it can be prepared by a semi-synthetic met

Mefloquine, sold under the brand name Lariam among others, is a medication used to prevent or treat malaria. When used for prevention it is typically started before potential exposure and continued for several weeks after potential exposure. It can be used to treat mild or moderate malaria but is not recommended for severe malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic diseases toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis. It is also used with dapsone as a second-line option to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in people with HIV/AIDS. It was previously used for malaria but is no longer recommended due to resistance. Pyrimethamine is taken by mouth.

Primaquine is a medication used to treat and prevent malaria and to treat Pneumocystis pneumonia. Specifically it is used for malaria due to Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale along with other medications and for prevention if other options cannot be used. It is an alternative treatment for Pneumocystis pneumonia together with clindamycin. It is taken by mouth.

Proguanil, also known as chlorguanide and chloroguanide, is a medication used to treat and prevent malaria. It is often used together with chloroquine or atovaquone. When used with chloroquine the combination will treat mild chloroquine resistant malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Atovaquone, sold under the brand name Mepron, is an naphthoquinone antiprotozoal medication used in the prevention and treatment Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), and malaria (in combination with proguanil), as well as for treatment of babesiosis (in combination with azithromycin).

Amodiaquine (ADQ) is a medication used to treat malaria, including Plasmodium falciparum malaria when uncomplicated. It is recommended to be given with artesunate to reduce the risk of resistance. Due to the risk of rare but serious side effects, it is not generally recommended to prevent malaria. Though, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013 recommended use for seasonal preventive in children at high risk in combination with sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine.

Lumefantrine (or benflumetol) is an antimalarial drug. It is only used in combination with artemether. This combination is frequently the first-line medication for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Lumefantrine has a much longer half-life compared to artemether (3-6 days vs. 2 hours), and is therefore thought to clear any residual parasites that remain after combination treatment.

Artesunate is a medication used to treat malaria. The intravenous form is preferred to quinine for severe malaria. Often it is used as part of combination therapy, such as artesunate plus mefloquine. It is not used for the prevention of malaria. Artesunate can be given by injection into a vein, injection into a muscle, by mouth, and by rectum.

Mepacrine, also called quinacrine or by the trade names Atabrine or Atebrin, is a medication with several uses. It is related to chloroquine and mefloquine. Although available from compounding pharmacies, as of August 2020 approved formulations are not available in the United States.

Sulfadoxine (also spelled sulphadoxine) is an ultra-long-lasting sulfonamide used in combination with pyrimethamine to treat malaria.

agents used in the treatment of malaria

Artemether is a medication used for the treatment of malaria. The injectable form is specifically used for severe malaria rather than quinine. In adults, it may not be as effective as artesunate. It is given by injection in a muscle. It is also available by mouth in combination with lumefantrine, known as artemether/lumefantrine.

Dihydroartemisinin (also known as dihydroqinghaosu, artenimol or DHA) is a drug used to treat malaria. Dihydroartemisinin is the active metabolite of all artemisinin compounds (artemisinin, artesunate, artemether, etc.) and is also available as a drug in itself. It is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin and is widely used as an intermediate in the preparation of other artemisinin-derived antimalarial drugs. It is sold commercially in combination with piperaquine and has been shown to be equivalent to artemether/lumefantrine.

Artemether/lumefantrine, sold under the trade name Coartem among others, is a combination of the two medications artemether and lumefantrine. It is used to treat malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum that is not treatable with chloroquine. It is not typically used to prevent malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Halofantrine is a drug used to treat malaria. Halofantrine's structure contains a substituted phenanthrene, and is related to the antimalarial drugs quinine and lumefantrine. Marketed as Halfan, halofantrine is never used to prevent malaria and its mode of action is unknown, although a crystallographic study showed that it binds to hematin in vitro, suggesting a possible mechanism of action. Halofantrine has also been shown to bind to plasmepsin, a haemoglobin degrading enzyme unique to the malarial parasites.

Atovaquone/proguanil, sold under the brand name Malarone among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication used to treat and prevent malaria, including chloroquine-resistant malaria. It contains atovaquone and proguanil. It is not recommended for severe or complicated malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Fansidar, is a combination medication used to treat malaria. It contains sulfadoxine (a sulfonamide) and pyrimethamine (an antiprotozoal). For the treatment of malaria it is typically used along with other antimalarial medication such as artesunate. In areas of Africa with moderate to high rates of malaria, three doses are recommended during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Sulfalene (INN, USAN) or sulfametopyrazine (BAN) is a long-acting sulfonamide antibacterial used for the treatment of chronic bronchitis, urinary tract infections and malaria. As of 2014 there were only two countries in which it is currently still marketed: Thailand and Ireland.

Tafenoquine, sold under the brand name Krintafel among others, is a medication used to prevent and to treat malaria. With respect to acute malaria, it is used together with other medications to prevent relapse by Plasmodium vivax. It may be used to prevent all types of malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Artesunate/amodiaquine, sold under the trade name Camoquin among others, is a medication used for the treatment of malaria. It is a fixed-dose combination of artesunate and amodiaquine. Specifically it recommended for acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. It is taken by mouth.

8-Aminoquinoline is the 8-amino derivative of quinoline. Often abbreviated AQ, it is a pale yellow solid. It is structurally analogous to 8-hydroxyquinoline.

Artemotil (INN; also known as β-arteether), is a fast acting blood schizonticide specifically indicated for the treatment of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria and cerebral malaria cases. It is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, a natural product of the Chinese plant Artemisia annua. It is currently only used as a second line drug in severe cases of malaria.

Ailanthone is a quassinoid allelochemical produced by the tree Ailanthus altissima (commonly known as tree of heaven). It is a key agent behind the tree's strong allelopathic effects, which inhibit the growth of competing plants by suppressing seed germination and disrupting root elongation. Native to China, Ailanthus altissima has become one of the worst invasive species in North America and Europe, where ailanthone is known to contribute significantly to its competitive spread.

Pamaquine is an 8-aminoquinoline drug formerly used for the treatment of malaria. It is closely related to primaquine.

Cycloguanil is a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, and is a metabolite of the antimalarial drug proguanil; its formation in vivo has been thought to be primarily responsible for the antimalarial activity of proguanil. However, more recent work has indicated that, while proguanil is synergistic with the drug atovaquone (as in the combination Malarone), cycloguanil is in fact antagonistic to the effects of atovaquone, suggesting that, unlike cycloguanil, proguanil may have an alternative mechanism of antimalarial action besides dihydrofolate reductase inhibition.

Piperaquine is an antiparasitic drug used in combination with dihydroartemisinin to treat malaria. Piperaquine was developed under the Chinese National Malaria Elimination Programme in the 1960s and was adopted throughout China as a replacement for the structurally similar antimalarial drug chloroquine. Due to widespread parasite resistance to piperaquine, the drug fell out of use as a monotherapy, and is instead used as a partner drug for artemisinin combination therapy. Piperaquine kills parasites by disrupting the detoxification of host heme.

Pyronaridine is an antimalarial drug. It was first made in 1970 and has been in clinical use in China since the 1980s.

Chlorproguanil is an antimalarial drug. In the late 90s and early 2000s, it was studied under collaboration with the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank Special Program for Research and Training on Tropical Diseases and GlaxoSmithKline. It was a potential alternative to the preexisting combination therapy of chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, as malaria was showing drug resistance to this approach. It has been trialled in combination therapy with artesunate to treat haemolysis after malaria treatment, however its development was prematurely stopped because of safety concerns secondary to its associ

Arterolane, also known as OZ277 or RBx 11160, is an antimalarial compound marketed by Ranbaxy Laboratories. It was discovered by US and European scientists coordinated by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). Its molecular structure is uncommon for pharmacological compounds in that it has both an ozonide (trioxolane) group and an adamantane substituent.

Cipargamin (also known as KAE609 or NITD609) is a synthetic antimalarial compound belonging to the novel spiroindolone drug class. Developed by Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore, through a collaboration with the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), the Biomedical Primate Research Centre and the Swiss Tropical Institute, cipargamin represents a promising next-generation antimalarial drug currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials with a particular focus on safety evaluation. Cipargamin was awarded MMV Project of the Year 2009.

aspect of COVID-19 research

bark from trees of the genus Cinchona

Chinese military pharmaceutical project

Nitidine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid found in species of the genus Zanthoxylum , notably in Zanthoxylum nitidum. This compound has an anti-malarial activity.