Insulin reduces the requirement for serum in Plasmodium falciparum culture

Abstract

Insulin added to Plasmodium falciparum cultures (0.2 IU/ml) reduced the requirement for human serum from ten to five percent. This represents an obvious advantage by its serum-sparing effect and by reducing the chances of using contaminated serum in cultures. The growth-promoting ability of insulin was observed eitherin culture- adapted P. falciparum or in newly-isolated samples.

Keywords

• Plasmodium falciparum
• Malária
• Insulina
• Meio de cultura