Question

What is haemozoin?

Answer 1

Haemozoin:

1. After consuming blood, haemozoin is a waste product produced by blood-feeding parasites ( hematophagous species).
2. These hematophagous species, such as malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp. ), consume haemoglobin and produce large amounts of free heme and free-heme is toxic to cells.
3. So, the parasites convert the free-heme into an insoluble, crystalline form called hemozoin.
4. Haemozoin is also known as malaria pigment in malaria parasites.