ABSTRACT
Background: Malaria is a global menace caused by the transfer of a plasmodium parasite to a host by an infected anopheles mosquito. Upon infection; the overwhelmed host releases free radicals which have the capacity to induce oxidative damage by lipid peroxidation. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum on some antioxidant markers and lipid peroxidation levels in children attending hospitals in Katsina State; Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from untreated subjects upon confirmation of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia using the Giemsa stain technique. One hundred and sixty (160) consenting individuals (80 infected patients and 80 uninfected subjects) comprising of both sexes were randomly selected. The levels of antioxidant markers and malondialdehyde (MDA) - a lipid peroxidation marker were determined. Descriptive analysis was employed using SPSS version 16.0 and significance between groups was ascertained using students' T-test. Results: P. falciparum malarial infection significantly (p 0.05) reduced the antioxidant markers [vitamins A; C; et E; and reduced glutathione (GSH)] by 65.4%; 29.7%; 48.1%; 40.4% respectively in males and by 54.2%; 36.6%; 55.7% ; 36.6% in females when compared with values obtained from uninfected; healthy children. Conversely; lipid peroxidation levels were significantly (p 0.05) higher in children with parasitaemia than in nonparasitaemic controls. Males showed greater than 200% increase; while it increased by 138% in females. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a reciprocal relationship; where high levels of lipid peroxidation correspond to low levels of antioxidants; which may be due to over utilization of the antioxidants in order to counteract the effect of free radicals. This may be responsible for oxidative stress and consequently; tissue damage associated with pathology of malaria in Nigerian children