Why in news?
Two stories have renewed discussions on scientific rigour and ethics. The stories were around haldi (turmeric) and litchi.
What is the the Haldi controversy?
- The substance that gives haldi its bright yellow hue is curcumin.
- They have innumerable virtues like anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial, anti-cancer and, as a piggyback on nanofibres to regenerate bone tissues.
- Recently, American scientists have debunked the medicinal value of curcumin in a reputed journal.
- They concluded that there was no evidence regarding therapeutic benefits of curcumin and it is a waste of money on researching it to find a new drug.
- Curcumin may not make for a classical drug going strictly by the tenets of medicinal chemistry, but it certainly qualifies as an ‘adjunct drug’ to treat some infectious diseases.
- So, summarily dismissing curcumin research as wasteful would be like burying a lot of remarkable science around Haldi.
What is the Litchi controversy?
- Turns out, eating Litchi and then not eating an evening meal, could be fatal. It kills a lot of children in Muzaffarpur region of Bihar, the litchi capital of India.
- Recently, a revelation was made in Lancet. Litchi fruits are laden with naturally occurring toxins like hypoglycin A and methylenecyclopropylglycine.
- These could trigger low glucose levels and metabolic derangement among children. The toxins embedded in the fruit reverses all its inherent sugariness.
- The dispute began when a set of scientists alleged that the Lancet study did not follow a basic ethical practice in science i.e., acknowledging similar previous findings.
- It is called as ‘scientific misconduct’. Truly, the Lancet did swung into action to figure out what went wrong in this case.
Source: Business Line
