Hemin lyses malaria parasites.

Malaria parasites isolated from mouse erythrocytes are lysed by ferriprotoporphyrin IX chloride (hemin) or by a chloroquine-hemin complex in amounts that could be produced by release of less than 0.1 percent of the heme in erythrocytic hemoglobin. This effect of hemin may explain the protection against malaria provided by thalassemia and other conditions causing intracellular denaturation of hemoglobin. The toxicity of the chloroquine-hemin complex may explain the selective antimalarial action of chloroquine.