Drug combinations in the treatment of malaria

The knowledge of the plasmodium life-cycle is essential for the use of antimalarial drugs and their combinations. The antimalarial drugs currently available can act on one or more stages of parasitic development, but only on its proliferative phases. The combinations of drugs in the treatment of malaria aim at three distinct objectives: a) action on different stages of parasitic life-cycle; b) enhancement of antiparasitic activity; and c) prevention of drug resistance. In this regard, complementary, additive and potentiating combinations have been used, sometimes on an empiric basis. The potentiating combinations seem the most logical and effective, but some of them are not rational due to pharmacokinetic differences between the proposed components.