Efficacy of Co-Administration of Zinc Supplement and ArtesunateAmodiaquine in the Treatment of Malaria-Infected Mice

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), such as AS-AQ, are recommended by the WHO for malaria treatment and are sometimes coadministered with antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress, although these agents may interfere with the treatment. This study investigated the effects of zinc supplementation on the antimalarial efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. In this experiment, 25 mice were divided into five groups: negative control (uninfected), positive control (infected, untreated), and three treatment groups (zinc only, AS-AQ only, and AS-AQ with zinc). Parasitaemia was induced, and the treatments were administered daily for three days. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the data. Results showed that AS-AQ alone cleared the parasite by day two, with a 100% survival rate and improved blood parameters. AS-AQ combined with zinc also cleared the parasite but had a lower survival rate (40%), indicating potential toxicity of the combination despite the maintained antimalarial efficacy. Zinc alone did not effectively control parasitaemia. The study revealed that zinc supplementation did not alter the antiplasmodial efficacy of the ACT partner, and it may have displayed toxicity that affected the survival rate of mice. This suggests that zinc supplementation does not have any beneficial effect as an antioxidant in the treatment of malaria infection, and its co-administration with ACTs may not be safe.