synthetic drug used in the treatment of malaria. Chloroquine, introduced into medicine in the 1940s, is a member of an important series of chemically related antimalarial agents, the quinoline derivatives. Chloroquine is administered orally as chloroquine phosphate. It also can be given by intramuscular injection as chloroquine hydrochloride. Chloroquine is effective against susceptible strains of the malarial parasites Plasmodium vivax, P. ovale, and P. falciparum, as well as certain parasitic worms and amoebas (amoeba). Some mild side effects may occur, including headache and abdominal cramps, which are common to antimalarials. Visual impairment may occur with long-term use of chloroquine.