In vitro activities of ferrochloroquine against 55 Senegalese isolates of Plasmodium falciparum in comparison with those of standard antimalarial drugs

The in vitro activities of ferrochloroquine, chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine, halofantrine, amodiaquine, artesunate, atovaquone, cycloguanil and pyrimethamine were evaluated against Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Senegal (Dielmo, Ndiop), using an isotopic micro-drug susceptibility test. The IC50 values for ferrochloroquine ranged from 0.55 to 28.2 nM and the geometric mean IC50 for the 55 isolates was 7.9 nM (95% CI, 6.5-9.7 nM). Ferrochloroquine was 35 times more active than chloroquine (35-fold greater against chloroquine-resistant isolates), quinine, mefloquine, amodiaquine, cycloguanil and pyrimethamine. Weak positive correlations were observed between the responses to ferrochloroquine and that to chloroquine, quinine, and amodiaquine, but not compulsorily predictive of cross-resistance. There was no significant correlation between the response to ferrochloroquine and that to mefloquine, halofantrine, artesunate, atovaquone, cycloguanil and pyrimethamine. Ferrochloroquine may be an important alternative drug for the treatment of chloroquine-resistant malaria.