International Journal of Computer Science Issues

More than a traditional journal...

Plasmodium falciparum, the deadly malaria parasite, causes the most severe form of malaria, resulting in about 1.5-2.7 million deaths annually mostly in Africa. Metabolism is one of the most complex cellular processes. Connections between biochemical reactions via substrate and product metabolites create complex metabolic networks that may be analyzed using network theory which plays a major role discovery of new drug targets. This is especially important as the malaria parasite has become resistant to existing malaria drugs. Discoveries in biomedical research increases the possibility of treating the disease by effectively and specifically targeting essential enzymes of this parasite. In this work, we developed a simple but efficient tool for visualisation of metabolic pathways of Plasmodium falciparum. This web based software enables translation of text format descriptions of biological networks into standardized diagrams and readable to users. It allows users to view their biological network in a pathway or sub-pathway and how reactions of interest are linked. Our tool was implemented in Java and tested on Windows and Unix systems.