The effect of acute plasmodium falciparum infection on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and ascorbic acid (AA) were studied in 200 children infested with malaria between the ages of 0.5 - 5 years with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Healthy children (n = 200) matched for age and sex ratio served as control. MDA content was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the plasma of malarias children (13.88 ± 1.02 µmol/m) compared to the control (8.71 + 0.62 mmol/ml) However, AA level showed an opposite response: malarias children (87.41 + 3.43 mmol/ml) and control (122.07 + 6.36 mmol/ml). These results were also highly significant (P < 0.01). Also a negative correlation (r = -0.525) was observed between these two parameters in the malarias children against a positive correlation (r = 0.533) in the control. These opposite responses in the level of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid may in part account for the general tissue damage associated with the pathology of malaria. @JASE
