Microspectrophotometric analysis of malarial pigment

The absorption spectra of pigment granules in erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium vivax were examined by microspectrophotometry. Our investigations show that individual pigment granules in infected erythrocytes are different and that gradual transitional stages are found from hemoglobin to a compound with a symmetric absorption spectrum with a maximum at 442 nm. This compound is likely to be the “pure” malaria pigment. The exact nature of this pigment is not clear from the absorption curves; it is certainly not chemically pure hematin or bilirubin.