Complex nature of malaria parasite hemoglobin degredation.

The article discusses the importance of hemoglobin degradation, a massive catabolic process, for the intraerythrocytic development of malaria parasites. The process occurs in an acidic food vacoule and is mediated by the action of about a dozen proteases. Several proteins and lipids have been shown to accelerate the formation of hemozoin from heme with the use of physiological conditions.