| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria is still a public health problem in Malaysia with chloroquine (CQ) being the first-line drug in the treatment policy of uncomplicated malaria. There is a scarcity in information about the magnitude of <it>Plasmodium falciparum</it> CQ resistance. This study aims to investigate the presence of single point mutations in the <it>P. falciparum</it> chloroquine-resistance transporter gene (<it>pfcrt</it>) at codons 76, 271, 326, 356 and 371 and in <it>P. falciparum</it> multi-drug resistance-1 gene (<it>pfmdr1</it>) at codons 86 and 1246, as molecular markers of CQ resistance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 75 <it>P. falciparum</it> blood samples were collected from different districts of Pahang state, Malaysia. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in <it>pfcrt</it> gene (codons 76, 271, 326, 356 and 371) and <it>pfmdr1</it> gene (codons 86 and 1246) were analysed by using mutation-specific nested PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mutations of <it>pfcrt</it> K76T and <it>pfcrt</it> R371I were the most prevalent among <it>pfcrt</it> gene mutations reported by this study; 52% and 77%, respectively. Other codons of the <it>pfcrt</it> gene and the positions 86 and 1246 of the <it>pfmdr1</it> gene were found mostly of wild type. Significant associations of <it>pfcrt</it> K76T, <it>pfcrt</it> N326S and <it>pfcrt</it> I356T mutations with parasitaemia were also reported.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The high existence of mutant <it>pfcrt</it> T76 may indicate the low susceptibility of <it>P. falciparum</it> isolates to CQ in Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study establish baseline data on the molecular markers of <it>P. falciparum</it> CQ resistance, which may help in the surveillance of drug resistance in Peninsular Malaysia.</p>
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