Hemozoin: Oil versus water

Because the quinolines inhibit heme crystallization within the malaria parasite much work has focused on mechanism of formation and inhibition of hemozoin. Here we review the recent evidence for heme crystallization within lipids in diverse parasites and the new implications of a lipid site of crystallization for drug targeting. Within leukocytes hemozoin can generate toxic radical lipid metabolites, which may alter immune function or reduce deformability of uninfected erythrocytes.