A long acting sulfonamide that is used, usually in combination with other drugs, for respiratory, urinary tract, and malarial infections.Sulfadoxine helps inhibit the enzyme dihydropteroate synthetase which is an enzyme necessary in the conversion of PABA to folic acid. As folic acid is vital to the synthesis, repair, and methylation of DNA which is vital to cell growth in Plasmodium falciparum. With this vital nutrient lacking, the parasite has difficulty in reproducing.
