RESUMO
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been incriminated to have an oxidative killing malaria parasite. As P. berghei-infected mouse red cells generated H2O2 in vivo, this would result in the alteration of catalase status of the host. The present study was undertaken to determine catalase activity in red cells and liver of mice infected with P. berghei. The studies were performed in 17 samples of infected red cells as well as 20 samples of the normal red cells. Results showed that the catalase activity in red cells of the infected group was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) than that of the normal group. There was a reverse relationship between catalase activity and parasitemia. Crude parasite lysates possessed no catalase activity. Liver catalase content in the infected group was also found to be significantly lower (p less than 0.05) than that of the control group. All these findings indicated that P. berghei-infected mice caused a depressed catalase activity in red cells and liver which was possibly due to the catalatic function in detoxifying the increased H2O2 to water and free oxygen.