| Falciparum malaria infection is associated with significant destruction of erythrocytes. This leads to the release of toxic metabolic products, including oxidant compounds.We measured the serum concentration of the antioxidant, ascorbic acid, in 129 patients presenting with acute falciparum malaria infection and in 65 healthy individuals. None of the study subjects administered any form of ascorbic acid supplementation within one week prior to participation in this study. The mean serum ascorbate concentration in infected adult males (n = 49, age range 18-50 years) was found to be 2.02 ± 0.20 mg/dL, and it was 2.03 ± 0.24 mg/dL in infected adult females (n = 56, age range 18-50 years). These values were significantly greater than the serum ascorbate levels... |
