Comparative Biochemistry of Parasites

Comparative Biochemistry of Parasites contains the proceedings of an international symposium organized by the Janssen Research Foundation and held at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium on September 1-3, 1971. The symposium reviewed progress in the understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of parasites such as protozoa and helminths. Organized into 34 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of early research on parasite biochemistry before turning to a discussion of antischistosomal drugs and their biochemical effects on parasites. The reader is then introduced to the biochemistry of carbohydrates in nematodes and cestodes; neurotransmitters in trematodes; pharmacological aspects and biochemical effects of tetramisole; the mechanism of action of berenil (Diminazene) and related compounds; and dihydrofolate reductases in parasitic protozoa and helminths. Other chapters focus on the loss of fatty acid biosynthesis in flatworms, the cytochrome system in Kinetoplastidae, oxidative phosphorylation in Moniezia mitochondria, and the role of non-heme iron in cestode respiration. Scientists, particularly physiologists and biochemists, will find this book an invaluable source of information on parasite physiology and biochemistry.