“May all be happy, may all be healed, may all be at peace and may no one ever suffer."
Primaquine is an 8-aminoquinoline antimalarial which eliminates the exoerythrocytic forms of malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium falciparum by disrupting mitochondria and binding to DNA.
Primaquine's mechanism of action is not well understood. It may be acting by generating reactive oxygen species or by interfering with the electron transport in the parasite. Also, although its mechanism of action is unclear, primaquine may bind to and alter the properties of protozoal DNA.