Serum Institute of India (India)

The increasing accumulation of single-use plastic cutlery poses a serious environmental threat due to its non-biodegradable nature and long persistence in landfills. This study aimed to develop and evaluate nutritionally enriched, eco-friendly edible cutleries using finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) flour as a partial or complete substitute for wheat flour. Edible cutleries were formulated using varying proportions of wheat flour and finger millet flour (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%), with jaggery as a natural sweetener and binding agent. The prepared cutleries were baked at 160°C for 20 minutes and assessed for physicochemical, textural, sensory, and nutritional characteristics. Proximate analysis revealed that the incorporation of finger millet significantly influenced the nutritional composition of the cutleries. The T2 formulation (50% finger millet flour) exhibited optimal nutritional properties, with moisture content of 6.40%, energy value of 355.89 kcal/100 g, carbohydrates of 78.50 g/100 g, protein of 8.02 g/100 g, fat of 1.09 g/100 g, fiber of 4.45 g/100 g, and ash content of 1.54 g/100 g. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA indicated significant differences (p < 0.001) among treatments for most parameters except fat content. Texture analysis demonstrated a progressive decrease in hardness with increasing finger millet content, attributed to reduced gluten strength. Sensory evaluation using a 9-point hedonic scale showed that the 50% finger millet sample (T2) achieved the highest overall acceptability despite lower hardness. Overall, the study concludes that finger millet-based edible cutleries are nutritionally superior, structurally stable, and sensorially acceptable, offering a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to conventional plastic cutlery while promoting the utilization of nutrient-rich traditional grains.

As the vaccines field continues to evolve, new technologies, targets, and delivery strategies are reshaping both research priorities and implementation pathways. We asked members of the Vaccine Insights Editorial Advisory Board to reflect on the areas shaping their current work and the developments they believe will influence the field in the years ahead. "Based on current trends, I expect increased focus on vaccine formulations that incorporate multiple antigens or immunogens, potentially addressing several diseases or stages within a single product." - Rajender Jena, Head Malaria Vaccines (Quality Control), Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, India

ABSTRACT Wide use of the groundbreaking vaccine MenAfriVac® has eliminated serogroup A meningococcal meningitis in the African meningitis belt and paved the way for elimination of all meningococcal disease outbreaks with the development, licensure, and introduction of an affordable multivalent conjugate vaccine that covers all disease-causing serogroups in the region. With supportive funding from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the global public health nonprofit PATH, and the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. extended their collaboration on MenAfriVac to develop, license, and World Health Organization prequalify MenFive®, an ACWYX meningococcal conjugate vaccine. The task of developing a low-priced, strongly immunogenic, pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine required multiple collaborators and complex coordination, with numerous challenges and lessons learned. Importantly, MenFive has the potential to eliminate meningococcal disease outbreaks—not only in Africa (with recent deployment of outbreak response during the 2024 and 2025 meningitis seasons) but also in other regions of the world.

Abstract Maintaining cold-chain integrity is vital for vaccines to ensure they remained within the recommended temperature limits to ensure stability and avoid degradation as storage temperature is one of the key factors contributing to rendering products substandard or ‘out of specification’. Heat-exposed vaccines closely resemble the chemical composition of the stable product making them very difficult to detect and testing as such is not routinely carried out at various points in the supply chain due to the lack of tools to identify effects of heat exposure in the field, a particular issue in countries with high-temperature climates. Here, we propose rapid and low-cost tests based on simple glucose assays to detect heat-exposed degraded sucrose-containing vaccines through its inherent gradual conversion to glucose at elevated temperatures. Bioluminescent and colorimetric assays and a clinical biochemical analyser for urine samples could successfully determine effects of heat exposure by detecting a significant increase in glucose levels. We show that this increase in glucose also correlates with the loss of vaccine potency. When vaccines were incubated at 37 and 45°C, the bioluminescent assay was able to detect an increase in glucose levels from 12 hours of heat exposure. The biochemical analyser could successfully detect if a COVID-19 vaccine had been exposed to 37 and 45°C. Most importantly, the colorimetric assay has the advantage of noticing a colour change by eye upon simply mixing the vaccine with a reagent without the need for a plate reader or any other sophisticated devices. To our knowledge, this is the first device-free test of its kind to determine the heat-exposed vaccines, making it an ideal test for deploying at various points in the supply chain in low- and middle-income countries to ensure the integrity of vaccine cold-chain. Although this test does not replace the more definitive potency assays, it could initially be used as a rapid and low-cost test to identify substandard sucrose-containing vaccines within supply chains, in support of WHO’s Prevent, Detect, and Respond strategy.

Microbial amylases have extensive commercial applications in various sectors such as food, beverages and pharmaceutical industries. In the present study, amylase producing bacterial strain was isolated from soil sample collected from garden campus of S. M. Joshi College, Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra. Primary screening of amylase producers was done on agar plates containing starch as substrate. Among 6 isolates, the potential strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis based on morphological cultural and biochemical tests. The solid-state fermentation was carried out using 20 % potato peel as substrate. The optimized physicochemical parameters were identified as pH 7, room temperature (~30 °C), 48 h and 7.5 % substrate concentration. The amylase activity was further improved in presence of 0.2 % (w/w) peptone, 0.02 % MgSO4·7H2O, 0.04 % CaCl2·2H2O and 0.04 % KH2PO4. Additionally, the optimized physicochemical and nutritional parameters reduced the fermentation time period by 50 % and gave optimum yield of enzyme in 24 h. Thus, the present study highlights the potential of B. subtilis strain to produce significant yield of amylase using agricultural wastes like potato peels.

A persistent long-standing, inflammatory skin condition that is brought on by a variety of factors is psoriasis. It is distinguished by itchy, scaly, reddish plaques, particularly on areas of the body that are frequently chafed, including the extensor sites of the limbs. Recent developments in molecular-targeted therapy that use biologics or small-molecule inhibitors can effectively cure even the worst psoriatic indications. The outstanding clinical outcomes of treatment help to clarify the disease's detrimental consequences on quality of life. Biomarkers that identify deep remission are essential for developing uniform treatment plans. Blood protein markers such as AMPs that are consistently quantifiable can be very helpful in routine clinical practice. The metabolic pathways involve biomarkers that can not only help diagnose psoriasis in a clinical setting but also indicate its severity based on the levels present in the body. Machine learning and AI have made a diagnosis of the expression of genes as biomarkers more accessible. In this article, biomarkers, as well as their key role in psoriasis, are discussed.