Is the fatty acid synthesis pathway a good target for anti-malarial therapy?

Abstract

Proteins and nucleic acids may be the basic building blocks of organisms, but without fatty acids, the scafold of life would be incomplete. Fatty acids are the essential components of phospholipids and sphingolipids that make up cellular and intracellular membranes, and cofactors, pigments, signaling molecules, etc. Fatty acids are synthesized from simple precursors by all organisms, save for a few like the mycoplasmas, which acquire them from their host (1). So, on to center stage! The action is where the fatty acids are synthesized.