JNU researchers develop sugar candies that could treat malaria in children

A team led by researchers from JNU have identified a naturally occurring sugar alcohol as a potent weapon to stop malaria among children below five years of age.

Natural sugar alcohol candies have been found effective against malaria and could be used among children below five years of age. The researchers have identified Erythritol, which is commonly used, as a sweetener, and as a potent antimalarial.
Erythritol, the sugar alcohol, is an organic compound that is used as a food additive and sugar substitute. "Why bother when you could just treat malaria in children with candies? That's what we want to do," professor Shailja Singh from JNU's Special Centre for Molecular Medicine said about her new findings.

The study published in preprint BioXRiv proposes using simple natural sugar alcohol candies in combination with existing anti-malarial drugs to give better protection against the illness.

According to the study, Erythritol binds to and passes by the malaria parasite Aquaporin channel and inhibits the growth malaria parasite. Erythritol, which is naturally occurring, can also be made from corn using enzymes and fermentation and s a four-carbon sugar that is found naturally in algae, fungi, and lichens.

Researchers said that the parasite growth in human blood leads to cerebral malaria in children below 5 years of age in tropical countries. Shailja Singh thinks that the sugar candy may be able to kill most parasites while leaving enough in the blood to help children develop resistance.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2020, nearly half of the world's population was at risk of malaria.

The new research, if it goes beyond the lab, could emerge as a major blockage to the spread of Malaria.

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This release was published on openPR.