Previous experiments using RPMI 1640 medium have indicated that the dialysis of human serum removes components of low relative molecular mass (6000-8000 RMM) that are essential for continuous cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum. To determine which low-RMM components are important for parasite development, we compared growth in normal serum to that in dialysed serum using a number of other commercially available media, which we considered to be richer than RPMI 1640. Through these comparisons, we determined that hypoxanthine was the major dialysable nutrient required for parasite development. High quality bovine serum requires 3 - 12 × 10-5 mol/litre of hypoxanthine as a supplement to support continuous cultures of P. falciparum. Thus far we have been unable to attain parasite growth in medium containing supplemented bovine serum that is as good as growth in medium containing human serum.
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