Plasmodium falciparum: Multidrug resistance

: Malaria is the most lethal and debilitating disease caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium worldwide. The most severe forms of disease and the incidence rates of mortality are associated with P. falciparum infections. With the identification of disease source and symptoms, many chemical entities were developed naturally and synthetically for administration as a potential antimalarial drug. The major classes of approved antimalarial drugs that are governed as first-line treatment in tropical and subtropical areas include quinolines, naphthoquinones, antifolates, 8-aminoquinolines, and endoperoxides. However, the efficacy of antimalarial drugs has decreased due to ongoing multidrug resistance problem to current drugs. With increasing resistance to the current antimalarial artemisinin and its combination therapies, malaria prophylaxis has declined gradually. New-generation antimalarial and novel drug target are required to check the incidence of malaria resistance. This review summarizes the emergence of multidrug resistance to known antimalarial and the development of new antimalarial to resolve drug resistance condition. Few essential proteins are also discussed that can be considered as novel drug target against malaria in future.