Quinone analogue irrecoverably paralyses the filarial parasites in vitro

2,3-Dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone (Q(0)), an analogue of ubiquinone, irreversibly paralyses the adult and microfilariae of the cattle filarial p arasite Setaria digitata. The same concentration of Q(0) that paralyses the microfilariae of S. digitala also paralyses the microfilariae of the human filarial parasite Wuchereria bancrofti within the same duration. Thus the experiments done in the model S. digitata system can well be extended to th e human filarial system. A drug at the level of the quinone-centered energy generating system, perhaps an analogue of quinone like Q(0), can inactivat e the filarial parasites and may prove to be an effective drug to control f ilariasis. (C) 1999 Academic Press.