Potential Benefits of Lycopene Consumption: Rationale for Using It as an Adjuvant Treatment for Malaria Patients and in Several Diseases.

Malaria is a disease that affects thousands of people around the world every year. Its pathogenesis is associated with the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and lower levels of micronutrients and antioxidants. Patients under drug treatment have high levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in the body tissues, which limits the use of these drugs. Therefore, several studies have suggested that RONS inhibition may represent an adjuvant therapeutic strategy in the treatment of these patients by increasing the antioxidant capacity of the host. In this sense, supplementation with antioxidant compounds such as zinc, selenium, and vitamins A, C, and E has been suggested as part of the treatment. Among dietary antioxidants, lycopene is the most powerful antioxidant among the main carotenoids. This review aimed to describe the main mechanisms inducing oxidative stress during malaria, highlighting the production of RONS as a defense mechanism against the infection induced by the ischemia-reperfusion syndrome, the metabolism of the parasite, and the metabolism of antimalarial drugs. Furthermore, the effects of lycopene on several diseases in which oxidative stress is implicated as a cause are outlined, providing information about its mechanism of action, and providing an evidence-based justification for its supplementation in malaria.

Oxidative Stress in Malaria: Potential Benefits of Antioxidant Therapy.

Malaria is an infectious disease and a serious public health problem in the world, with 3.3 billion people in endemic areas in 100 countries and about 200 million new cases each year, resulting in almost 1 million deaths in 2018. Although studies look for strategies to eradicate malaria, it is necessary to know more about its pathophysiology to understand the underlying mechanisms involved, particularly the redox balance, to guarantee success in combating this disease. In this review, we addressed the involvement of oxidative stress in malaria and the potential benefits of antioxidant supplementation as an adjuvant antimalarial therapy.