Plasmodium falciparum: Differing effects of non-esterified fatty acids and phospholipids on intraerythrocytic growth in serum-free medium

► Effects of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and phospholipids on intraerythrocytic growth of Plasmodium falciparum were investigated in serum-free medium. ► Different combinations of NEFA had variable effects on each developmental stage of P. falciparum in the presence or absence of phospholipids, depending on certain structural characteristics of NEFA, such as carbon-chain length, degree and position of unsaturation, and isomerism. ► Four typical growth patterns indicating complete growth, suppressed schizogony, suppressed formation of merozoites, and inhibited invasion of merozoites resulted from culture in various combinations of lipids. ► Different NEFA exerted distinct roles in erythrocytic growth of the parasite by sustaining development at different stages.