Antimalarial quinolines 

Antimalarial quinolines are used to prevent and treat malaria. During the blood stages of the life cycle of malaria parasite the parasite needs to degrade hemoglobin. Hemoglobin digestion releases free heme that is toxic to the parasite, so it is then polymerised to non toxic hemozoin. Antimalarial quinolines are thought to interfere with this polymerisation and kills the malaria parasite by the accumulation of toxic free heme.

The quinoline-containing antimalarial drugs, chloroquine, quinine and mefloquine, are a vital part of our chemotherapeutic armoury against malaria. These drugs are thought to act by interfering with the digestion of haemoglobin in the blood stages of the malaria life cycle.