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Host diet in experimental rodent malaria: a variable which can compromise experimental design and interpretation
C F Gilks1, W Jarra, K Harvey-Wood
1Nuffield Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Parasitology
|April 1, 1989
Summary
Dietary PABA levels impact rodent malaria models. Supplementing with para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) or changing animal feed resolved parasite growth inhibition and high mortality rates in malaria research.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Animal Models
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Rodent malaria models are crucial for research but have shown unexplained issues.
- Problems include inhibited parasite recovery and increased host mortality.
- These issues coincided with changes in experimental animal diets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of experimental animal diet on rodent malaria models.
- To identify dietary factors affecting parasite growth and host survival.
- To alert researchers to potential diet-related variables in malaria studies.
Main Methods:
- Observational analysis of incidents in rodent malaria studies.
- Experimental supplementation with p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA).
- Comparison of parasite growth and host mortality across different diets.
Main Results:
- Inhibition of cryopreserved parasite recovery and bloodstream parasite growth was linked to diet.
- Parasite growth inhibition was reversed by PABA supplementation or diet change.
- Increased host mortality was resolved by altering the animal diet.
Conclusions:
- Variations in PABA levels in laboratory animal feed can significantly impact rodent malaria models.
- Researchers must be aware of diet composition as a critical variable.
- Standardizing or carefully selecting animal diets is essential for reproducible malaria research.