Metabolic Pathways of Enzymes: Therapeutic Targets and Prospects for Innovative Antimalarial Drugs

Malaria is a life-threatening disease that still poses an imminent threat to the global human population as it contributes to a high annual fatality rate. The present standard of care depends on various antimalarial drugs and preparations and one of the most important is artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) aimed at to reduce Plasmodium count in body. The ACT treatment is very helpful in only few specific regions and had shown weakest performance in regions Plasmodium resistance has been noted. The development of resistance necessitates the development and research on various alternative and creative approaches to develop new antimalarial medicines. In view of evolving translational research and technologies, many parasite targets often complex proteins and enzymes discovered from Plasmodium unique organelles called apicoplast were intensively researched as potential options to develop novel antimalarial drugs with least side effects. Considering the active metabolic functions of mitochondria, apicoplast, and cytoplasm of parasitic Plasmodium having a strong potential to be therapeutic targets, there is a huge opportunity for new drug discovery. Therefore, in this chapter, we shall discuss various enzymes from unique organelles and their role as therapeutic targets to treat malaria on a global scale.