Herbicide hope for malaria

The malaria parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes

Common herbicides may hold the key to effective new drugs to tackle malaria.

New ways to combat the disease are badly needed, as the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is developing resistance to currently available drugs.

Herbicides are among the list of compounds that we've been able to use against the parasites

Dr Geoff McFadden

A major breakthrough came last year with the announcement that scientists had decoded the entire DNA structure of the parasite.

And just four months after the project was completed, Australian and US scientists say they have identified 500 points in the parasite's DNA which are ripe for attack by drugs.

A team from the University of Melbourne and Eliza Hall Institute in the US has found that of the more than 5,000 proteins listed in the malaria genome, 10 percent have a plant-type biochemistry.

They say it should be possible to disturb those proteins and stop them from working properly by using things that also kill plants.

And because the same plant-type structures do not exist in humans it should be possible to disable the parasite without causing any harm to the body.

Researcher Dr Geoff McFadden said: "Herbicides are among the list of compounds that we've been able to use against the parasites in laboratory cultures at least."

Trial success

Dr McFadden said a trial of one plant killing compound had already produced an 80% cure rate.

He said growing resistance of malaria to drugs was becoming a serious problem.

"The main drugs were developed in the 1950s, and have become ineffective.

"Several new drugs have had varying degrees of effectiveness, but one developed in the 1970s was useful for just three months."

"We've got be be much more strategic about deploying the drugs.

"For example some drugs could only be brought out for the most serious cases or the selection of drugs could be used on a rotating basis."

The research is published in the magazine Science.