Riboflavin deficiency and severity of malaria.

The riboflavin status of 64 children suffering from malarial infection was assessed by measuring the activation coefficient of erythrocyte glutathione reductase. Thirty-five children were found to be deficient in riboflavin whereas in 29 children riboflavin status was within the normal range. The median parasite count and its range on admission in the deficient group (2.7 per cent, range 0.3-13.6) was lower than that in the non-deficient group (5.3 per cent, range 0.6-30.2). The correlation between activity coefficient and parasite count was significant (R = -0.49). The recovery process was slower in the deficient group even though they had a relatively lower parasite count. It is inferred that riboflavin deficiency leads to inhibition of growth and multiplication of plasmodia. Its beneficial effects in malaria infection needs further evaluation.