How Iron And Vitamin C Supplements Negatively Impact Malaria Treatment

Some years ago, it was a standard practice to give an Antimalarial with iron supplements. The rational for adding an iron supplement was that malarial parasites destroys red blood cells. Iron supplements help build back red blood cells. However, some of the iron supplements contain vitamin C. Recent research is changing all that practice.
Sporozoites, one of the form of malaria parasites that lives in the liver require iron to survive and multiply. To get some amount of iron, they invade red blood cells, multiply inside and destroy it releasing the iron in red blood cells for themselves. This is because red blood cells contain haem which is rich in iron. But giving iron supplements is like supplying the parasites with what they need without working for it. Most drugs get metabolise in the liver as the liver contains many enzymes for that. Same too with iron supplement. The iron supplements goes straight to the liver where the parasites utilize it for themselves.
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On the otherhand, vitamin C help absorb iron into the liver. This will make more iron available to the parasites. Another job of vitamin C is its antioxidant properties moping up free radicals from the body. Unfortunately, vitamin C mop up artemisinin based combination therapy drugs like artemether/lumefantrin oxidative derivatives. This end up reducing the effect of the drugs.
I would have said from now on, nobody should take iron supplements during malaria attack but I have to have a rethink. Some other independent research claim there was little or no significant effect on the result of treatment. That made me to turn to the World Health Organisation for an answer. As at the year 2010, there is no declaration by world health organisation (W H.O) to that effect. Not even a research by the top pharmaceutical companies if the world. These findings are research from individuals with little trust on their outcomes. According to one independent researcher, the reasons for the silence on this matter by those big companies is that majority are into production of these supplements and malaria attack is on of the indications for prescribing iron supplements.
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I am still on the lookout for any recent research by WHO or any other if these companies but that may be some years to come. However, to me prevention is better than cure. The use of iron supplements after completing the dose of the antimalarial drugs is better than take risk.
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