The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, as there is no specific therapeutics for monkeypox virus (MPXV) disease. This study focused on docking various commercial drugs and plant-derived compounds against the E8 envelope protein crucial for MPXV attachment and pathogenesis. The target protein structure was modeled based on the vaccinia virus D8L protein. Notably, maraviroc and punicalagin emerged as potential ligands, with punicalagin exhibiting higher binding affinity (− 9.1 kcal/mol) than maraviroc (− 7.8 kcal/mol). Validation through 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrated increased stability of the E8-punicalagin complex, with lower RMSD, RMSF, and Rg compared to maraviroc. Enhanced hydrogen bonding, lower solvent accessibility, and compact motions also attributed to higher binding affinity and stability of the complex. MM-PBSA calculations revealed van der Waals, electrostatic, and non-polar solvation as principal stabilizing energies. The binding energy decomposition per residue favored stable interactions between punicalagin and the protein’s active site residues (Arg20, Phe56, Glu228, Tyr232) compared to maraviroc. Overall study suggests that punicalagin can act as a potent inhibitor against MPXV. Further research and experimental investigations are warranted to validate its efficacy and safety.

Moiya pansung, mileye amileye, moiya koshak, and midukeye are naturally fermented bamboo shoot foods of Tripura. The present study aimed to reveal the whole microbial community structure of naturally fermented moiya pangsung, mileye amileye, moiya koshak, and midukeye along with the prediction of microbial functional profiles by shotgun metagenomic sequence analysis. The metataxonomic profile of moiya pangsung, mileye amileye, moiya koshak, and midukeye samples showed different domains, viz., bacteria (97.70%) followed by the virus (0.76%), unclassified (0.09%), eukaryotes (1.46%) and archaea (0.05%). Overall, 49 phyla, 409 families, 841 genera, and 1,799 species were found in all the fermented bamboo shoot samples collected from different places of Tripura. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum (89.28%) followed by Proteobacteria (5.13%), Bacteroidetes (4.38%), Actinobacteria (1.02%), and Fusobacteria (0.17%). Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was the most abundant species in moiya pangsung, mileye amileye, moiya koshak, and midukeye followed by Lactococcus lactis, Levilactobacillus brevis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Weissella paramesenteroides, Leuconostoc kimchii, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Leuconostoc gasicomitatum, and Lacticaseibacillus casei. A few phyla of fungus were found, viz., Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota, where Ascomycota was present in high abundance. Functional analysis of moiya pangsung, mileye amileye, moiya koshak, and midukeye metagenome revealed the genes for the synthesis and metabolism of a wide range of bioactive compounds including, various essential amino acids, and conjugated amino acids. The abundance profile and predictive analysis of fermented bamboo shoots revealed a huge plethora of essential microorganisms and KEGG analysis revealed genes for amino acid metabolism, pectin degradation, lipid metabolism, and many other essential pathways that can be essential for the improvement of nutritional and sensory qualities of the fermented bamboo shoot products.

This study investigates the diverse fungal community and their probiotic functions present in ethnic fermented bamboo shoots of Arunachal Pradesh. Among 95 yeast isolates, 13 demonstrated notable probiotic attributes. These included growth at pH 3, bile tolerance, autoaggregation, co-aggregation, hydrophobicity, lysozyme tolerance and antimicrobial activity. Confirmation of some of the probiotic properties through specific primers enabled the detection of genes associated with acid and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity, and adhesion. Probiotic yeasts were finally identified based on D1 and D2 sequences of large ribosomal subunit as Meyerozyma guilliermondii (BEP1, KGM1_3, NHR3), Meyerozyma caribbica (GEP7), Candida orthopsilopsis (ES1_2, EB1_2, EEGM2_4, GEP2, NEK9), Candida parasilopsis (HD1_1), Pichia kudriavzevii (NHR12), Pichia fermentans (BEP2), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NEP2). Fungal amplicon sequencing highlighted the predominance of Ascomycetes, particularly Pestalotiopsis and Penicillium genera. In this study we have perfomed a culture dependent isolation and probiotic study of yeasts and culture independent analysis of the fungal community present during the fermentation of bamboo shoots of Arunachal Pradesh which provides information about the beneficial properties of bamboo shoots as the reservoir of probiotic microorganisms.