MB in combination with a number of partner drugs has been shown to be safe and effective in a West-African population with a high prevalence of glucose-6phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Interestingly, plasmoquine, an antimalarial drug developed as a derivative MB, is known to be highly effective against gametocytes. In this context it is also worth mentioning that genes encoding the putative target proteins of MB were present in the gametocyte-specific cDNA library originally established in Kaslow’s laboratory. Against this background, we analysed the efficacy of MB-based combination therapy against LOUREIRIN-B gametocytes using data from a randomised controlled phase II study in Burkina Faso. Treatment of malaria with MB-based regimens not only is more effective than AQ-AS in this part of Burkina Faso but also associated with a markedly reduced prevalence of P. falciparum gametocytaemia following treatment. In this first respective study, the D-Pantothenic acid sodium gametocytocidal effect of MB-combination treatment significantly exceeded that of AQ-AS. In fact, when following only those subjects who had gametocytaemia at baseline, P. falciparum gametocytes were detected exclusively in the ACT control group. In children presenting without gametocytes, the finding of a lower P. falciparum gametocytaemia during follow-up in both MB-based combinations remained but was no longer that marked. However, due to the limited sample size these observations are based on small and not always statistically significant numbers and need to be interpreted with some caution. Moreover, P. falciparum gametocytaemia was not included as a specific endpoint a priori. This does not change the reliability of our findings as all slides from the trial were safely stored in the CRSN laboratory and reexamined by blinded laboratory technicians. Measuring the effects of the different treatments on submicroscopic gametocytaemia could have been another option to increase the power of this study. For instance, in a recent trial in Tanzanian children, gametocytes were detected in 23% and 89% by microscopy and real-time PCR assays, respectively, and data from The Gambia and Kenya indicate the transmission potential of submicroscopic gametocytaemia. However, standardised collection of appropriate samples to address this issue was not performed in the present study. ACT has been shown to be highly effective against P. falciparum gametocytes except on the more mature stages of their development. This is supported by our finding of a rather low respective efficacy among patients harbouring gametocytes at baseline. MB-based combinations not only cleared all preexisting gametocytes but appeared to have a stronger effect than AQ-AS on the emergence of young gametocytes following treatment. This points to the possibility of a synergistic use of MB and artemisinin derivatives against gametocytes. Unfortunately, the small sample size of the present study did not allow probing this hypothesis. The mechanism by which MB acts against gametocytes is obscure so far. Rapid elimination of asexual parasites by MB-based combination treatment may be involved in preventing subsequent gametocytaemia. However, MB-AQ exhibited superior gametocytocidal effects but slower clearance of asexual parasites as compared to AQ-AS. Interestingly, the remarkable effect of low doses of a MB derivative, plasmoquine, on P. falciparum gametocytes has long been known.