Antioxidant Status of Children Infected with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Kebbi Metropolis, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria is a global life aggressive disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite to a host after infected anopheles mosquito leading to release of free radicals which have the capacity to induce oxidative stress. This study was carried out to assess the effect of malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) on some antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E and reduced glutathione) and lipid peroxidation marker (MDA) in children attending Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from untreated subjects upon confirmation of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia using the Rapid test kit (SD Bioline Malaria Ag P.f) method. One hundred and twelve consenting subjects (72 positive and 40 negative subjects) comprising of both sexes were randomly selected. Vitamin A was determined using a method of Bassey, et al. [1] while vitamins C and E using a method of Baker and Frank [2]. Reduced glutathione and MDA were determined using methods of Patterson and Lazarow [3] and Abubakar, et al. [4] respectively. Results were analysed using SPSS version 16.0 and significance between groups was ascertained using students' T-test. Result showed that level of antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, C, & E) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in malarial positive subjects were significantly lower (p < 0.05) compared to control subjects. Similarly, lipid peroxidation marker (MDA) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in children with parasitaemia than in non-parasitaemia controls. The decrease in the levels of antioxidant vitamins (A, C and E) and reduced glutathione (GSH) as observed may be due toneed of antioxidants to scavenge the free radicals caused by malarial infection.

Association of reduced glutathione levels with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This led to the exclusion of 317 records for various reasons, including being in vitro/in vivo studies, review articles, or conference abstracts, as well as lacking GSH information, the absence of malaria cases, not specifying GSH type, or analyzing post-treatment GSH levels. Eventually, 18 studies meeting the criteria were included in the review 14 – 20 , 31 – 41 : 12 from the primary database search 15 – 17 , 20 , 31 – 37 , 39 , five from Google Scholar 14 , 18 , 19 , 38 , 41 , and one from a reference list 40 (Fig. 1 ).…”

“…However, the other cohort study 39 displayed certain inadequacies and ambiguities, including exposure measurement and handling of confounding factors. For the case–control studies, one 14 struggled with group comparability and case–control matching and did not address confounding factors. Another 31 upheld all quality criteria.…”

“…The majority of African studies on GSH levels in malaria were conducted in Nigeria, with significant contributions from authors such as Abduljalil et al 14 , Abubakar et al 15 , Akanbi et al 16 , Babalola et al 19 , Nsonwu-Anyanwu et al 37 , Oluba et al 39 , Onyeneke et al 40 , and Ozojiofor et al 41 . The majority of Asian studies were conducted in India, as evidenced by works from Aqeel et al 31 , Bhattacharya and Swarup-Mitra 33 , Das and Nanda 34 , Sohail et al 17 , and Tyagi et al 18 .…”

“…Overall, a significant decrease in GSH levels in individuals with malaria compared with uninfected controls was observed in 13 of these studies. Regarding different age groups, the majority of studies focused on children observed a significant decrease in GSH levels when infected with malaria, as seen in studies by Abduljalil et al 14 , Abubakar et al 15 , Das and Nanda 34 , Oluba et al 39 , and Ojongnkpot et al 38 . In particular, Ojongnkpot’s study from Cameroon highlighted a negative relationship between GSH levels and parasite density in children 38 .…”

“…Despite the known roles of GSH, the results of studies examining its relationship with malaria are inconsistent and often limited by small sample sizes. Some studies have shown reduced GSH levels in malaria patients compared with uninfected controls 14 – 16 , while others reported increased GSH levels 17 , 18 or no difference 19 , 20 . A comprehensive understanding of the role of GSH in Plasmodium infection, including the effects of specific species, clinical outcomes, and the relationship between GSH levels and parasite density, remains elusive.…”