Asian Journal of Biology

GC-MS Metabolite Profiling of Curcuma aromatica Salisb. (Wild Turmeric) Rhizomes: Linking Traditional Ethnomedicinal Uses to Modern Antimicrobial Potential

2026-08-22T12:34:05+00:00

Curcuma aromatica Salisb. (wild turmeric) is an important medicinal plant valued for its therapeutic properties. In this study, the phytochemical composition of the essential oil extracted from rhizomes collected in Marngar, Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India, was characterised using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Hydro-distillation yielded 0.6–1.0% (w/w) essential oil, and GC–MS analysis identified 38 volatile compounds. The major constituents were camphor (19.26%), camphene (16.33%), sativene (14.68%), and epicurzerenone (14.31%), collectively accounting for 64.58% of the total oil composition. Compound class analysis revealed that monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were the dominant constituents of the essential oil (report the corrected percentages after recalculation). Separately, the antimicrobial activity of methanol, acetone, aqueous, and hexane rhizome extracts was evaluated using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay against selected bacterial and fungal pathogens. Methanol and acetone extracts exhibited the strongest antimicrobial activity, with MIC values ranging from 62 to 500 µg/mL, whereas aqueous and hexane extracts showed comparatively weaker activity. These findings demonstrate that C. aromatica possesses a chemically diverse essential oil with promising in vitro antimicrobial activity, supporting its potential as a source of bioactive compounds for further pharmacological investigation.

Novel Reports of Testate Amoebae from Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa, India: Expanding the Protist Diversity Database of the Western Ghats

2026-08-31T11:52:26+00:00

The Western Ghats are recognised for high biodiversity, but microscopic eukaryotic diversity remains poorly documented in many protected forest habitats. The present study surveyed moss-inhabiting testate amoebae from Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa, with the aim of documenting species occurrence and contributing baseline information on protist diversity from this underexplored region. Moss samples were collected from rocks, tree bark and walls within the sanctuary and processed using the non-flooded Petri dish method. Run-off water from the samples was examined microscopically for two to three weeks, depending on the availability of protozoan specimens. Observed testate amoebae were fixed, air-dried, mounted in Dibutylphthalate Polystyrene Xylene (DPX) and deposited as whole mounts in the National Zoological Collections of the Western Ghat Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode. A total of 17 species belonging to 8 genera and 7 families were recorded from the moss biotopes. The recorded taxa included representatives of Arcellidae, Netzeliidae, Difflugiidae, Centropyxidae, Hyalospheniidae, Euglyphidae and Trinematidae. According to the manuscript record, all species identified in the present survey represent new records for Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and Goa. The findings provide an initial account of moss-associated testate amoebae from the sanctuary and highlight the importance of including protists in biodiversity inventories of tropical forest ecosystems. Further surveys across additional habitats and seasons are needed to develop a more complete understanding of testate amoeba diversity in the region.

Traditional Medicinal Uses and in vitro Antibacterial Screening of Bee and Termite Products in Northern Benin: A Pilot Ethnoentomological Study

2026-09-01T11:16:50+00:00

Background: Bee and termite-derived products are widely used in traditional medicine for the management of various health conditions. However, scientific evidence on their medicinal applications and antibacterial properties remains limited in Benin, particularly in the northern regions. Documenting traditional knowledge alongside preliminary experimental evaluation is therefore important for assessing these locally used biological resources and establishing baseline evidence for further investigation.

Aims: To document the traditional uses of bee and termite products in traditional medicine in Northern Benin and to provide a preliminary assessment of their in vitro antibacterial activity.

Study Design: A pilot cross-sectional ethnoentomological survey combined with an in vitro microbiological screening.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Northern Benin across ten municipalities representing the Borgou-Alibori and Atacora-Donga agroecological zones in August 2024.

Methodology: Ten traditional health practitioners were recruited using non-probability snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in local languages using a pre-tested KoboCollect questionnaire. Honey bee products and termite-derived materials were collected from local beekeepers and wild sites. Hydroethanolic extracts were prepared and screened against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, and Salmonella enterica ATCC 13076 using agar disk diffusion. Extracts were tested at 2.0 mg/disk; ampicillin and imipenem served as positive controls.

Results: Seven of the ten practitioners (70%) reported using insects to treat patients, and all respondents reported positive therapeutic outcomes from insect- or hive-derived preparations. Honey, propolis, bees, and termite-derived materials were associated mainly with respiratory, cutaneous, and digestive indications. None of the tested crude extracts produced measurable inhibition zones against the three bacterial strains; inhibition diameters were 6.0 ± 0.0 mm, corresponding to the disk diameter. Positive controls produced the expected inhibition zones.

Conclusion: The study documents the importance of bee- and termite-derived resources in traditional medicine in Northern Benin. The absence of detectable antibacterial activity under the tested conditions does not exclude biological activity, given the possible effects of geographical and botanical origin, extraction procedures, chemical composition, and target microorganisms. Further chemical, microbiological, and ethnobiological investigations are warranted.

mRNA Cancer Vaccines: A Critical Appraisal of Applications, Persistent Challenges and Realistic Future Perspectives

2026-08-26T11:06:01+00:00

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines entered oncology on the strength of a technology validated at population scale for infectious disease prophylaxis, and the therapeutic cancer vaccine field has been reshaped accordingly. The platform permits rapid design-to-dose intervals, encoding of many epitopes within a single product, cell-free manufacture and a dosing schedule compatible with combination immunotherapy. Enthusiasm has nevertheless outpaced the maturity of the clinical evidence. This critical narrative review evaluates the strength, internal consistency and methodological quality of the literature on mRNA cancer vaccines, and distinguishes conclusions that are reasonably secure from those that remain provisional. Literature published between January 2005 and 13 June 2026 was identified through structured searching of biomedical and multidisciplinary scholarly indexes, supplemented by backward and forward citation tracing. Evidence was appraised for design adequacy, endpoint validity, sample size, control structure and consistency across independent groups, then organised thematically rather than study by study.

Four conclusions are well supported. RNA constructs can reliably prime de novo, poly-epitopic CD4-positive and CD8-positive T cell responses against both shared and mutation-derived antigens in humans; vaccine-induced clones can persist for years; formulation and administration route govern the anatomical site of antigen presentation and the character of innate activation; and toxicity in the reported oncology cohorts has been predominantly low grade. Four conclusions remain insecure. Randomised evidence of clinical benefit rests on a single phase 2b melanoma trial whose primary comparison did not reach conventional significance; immunogenicity has been treated as an efficacy surrogate without formal validation; comparative data on antigen-selection strategies, delivery chemistries and dosing schedules are almost entirely absent; and the durability, cardiac and excipient-related safety questions raised by mass prophylactic use have not been examined in repeatedly dosed patients with cancer. Analysis of the reported discrepancies indicates that heterogeneity in neoantigen prediction pipelines, assay thresholds for defining an immune response, and tumour microenvironmental context explain much of the apparent inconsistency between trials. Priorities include randomised platform trials with harmonised immunological endpoints, head-to-head comparison of antigen and delivery strategies, and prospective surrogate-endpoint validation.