primaquine

[prahy-muh-kween]

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a viscous liquid, C 1 5 H 2 1 N 3 O, used in the treatment of malaria.

primaquine

/ ˈpraɪməˌkwiːn /

noun

1. a synthetic drug used in the treatment of malaria. Formula: C 15 H 21 N 3 O

Word History and Origins

Origin of primaquine¹

1945–50; < New Latin prīma prime + quin(olin)e

Word History and Origins

Origin of primaquine¹

C20: from prima-, from Latin prīmus first + _quin ( _olin ) _e

Example Sentences

With a firm diagnosis in hand, the hospital prescribed primaquine, one of the few drugs that can kill malaria parasites hiding in the liver.

Read more on Seattle Times

There is already a medication that can be used to get rid of malaria hiding in the liver called primaquine.

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Parasite resistance to primaquine is suspected but, within an endemic region, there is currently no accepted method to distinguish relapses caused by drug failure from those caused by reinfection.

Read more on Nature

For example, only primaquine can kill once it has entered the liver.

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But unlike the single dose of tafenoquine needed, primaquine often needs to be taken for 14 days.

Read more on BBC