Acid phosphatase as a marker in malaria.

UNLABELLED: The serum acid phosphatase (ACP) activity and Hemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured in malaria patients and nonmalarial fever patients. The results were compared with normal healthy control subjects. ACP was significantly increased (P < 0.001) in all the malaria patients. ACP was significantly higher in Plasmodium falcifarum malaria and mixed malaria when compared to Plasmodium vivax malaria. Hb levels were significantly decreased in all the malaria patients which indicates that malaria parasite uses host erythrocyte Hb as a major nutrient source. There is negative correlation(r = -0.478) between ACP and Hb in malaria patients, which is highly significant. These results suggest that the measurement of ACP could be used as a marker for malaria. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12291-011-0137-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.