Proguanil (PG)

Proguanil is a prophylactic antimalarial drug. Proguanil is effective against sporozoites. It has been used for malarial prophylaxis in children with sickle cell disease living in malaria-endemic areas for many years. Malarone has fewer side effects than mefloquine, but can be more expensive because it is taken daily. Proguanil is taken with atovaquone for chloroquine-resistant and multidrug resistant strains of P. General precautions regarding proguanil involve watching out for feelings of sullenness and anxiety to a level outside the ordinary, when taking it over a period of several months. It works by stopping the malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, from reproducing once they are inside red blood cells, by inhibiting the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, which catalyzes the formation of tetrahydrofolate, the main one-carbon unit carrier in the body, required for dTMP and purine base synthesis.