Hemozoin

Haemozoin is a disposal product formed from the digestion of <a href="/facts/Blood/03zEulkj">blood</a> by some blood-feeding <a href="/facts/Parasite/HWPcgky7">parasites</a>. These <a href="/facts/Hematophagy/plcTvPFg">hematophagous</a> organisms such as <a href="/facts/Malaria/rN3g58CX">malaria</a> parasites (<a href="/facts/Plasmodium/Je91qK4F">Plasmodium</a> spp.), <a href="/facts/Rhodnius/3lYaFIHr">Rhodnius</a> and <a href="/facts/Schistosoma/aBmHzzJV">Schistosoma</a> digest <a href="/facts/Haemoglobin/RsD1MzYA">haemoglobin</a> and release high quantities of free <a href="/facts/Heme/fRhyJAAb">heme</a>, which is the non-protein component of haemoglobin. Heme is a <a href="/facts/Prosthetic_group/XnFupodh">prosthetic group</a> consisting of an <a href="/facts/Iron/QK1JYy8E">iron</a> atom contained in the center of a <a href="/facts/Heterocyclic/8oYSjJxY">heterocyclic</a> <a href="/facts/Porphyrin/lKNtdXp1">porphyrin</a> ring. Free heme is toxic to cells, so the parasites convert it into an insoluble crystalline form called hemozoin. In malaria parasites, hemozoin is often called malaria pigment.
Since the formation of hemozoin is essential to the survival of these parasites, it is an attractive target for <a href="/facts/Drug_development/k34jgV4B">developing drugs</a> and is much-studied in <a href="/facts/Plasmodium/Je91qK4F">Plasmodium</a> as a way to find drugs to treat malaria (malaria's <a href="/facts/Achilles%2527_heel/KVpYCRBV">Achilles' heel</a>). Several currently used <a href="/facts/Antimalarial_drug/8l4vNNNH">antimalarial drugs</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Chloroquine/YU9bn818">chloroquine</a> and <a href="/facts/Mefloquine/WPJVsvcm">mefloquine</a>, are thought to kill malaria parasites by inhibiting haemozoin <a href="/facts/Biocrystallization/4RhhqEeY">biocrystallization</a>.

Hemozoin open-in-new

Hemozoin