Exploratory GC-MS profiling of solvent-extractable compounds from different body regions of Oecophylla smaragdina...

The present study provides an exploratory GC-MS profiling of solvent-extractable compounds from the head, thorax, and abdomen of worker Oecophylla smaragdina. Ethyl acetate extracts prepared from pooled body-region samples were analysed by GC-MS, and compound assignments were tentatively made based on comparisons with the NIST mass spectral library. A total of 884 tentative spectral library matches were obtained across the three body regions. The extracts exhibited chemically diverse profiles comprising hydrocarbons, acids, esters, alcohols, and related compounds, with several compounds showing differential occurrence among body regions. Because compound assignments were based solely on spectral library matching and biological replication was not performed, the findings should be regarded as an exploratory chemical survey. The study provides preliminary information on the solvent-extractable chemical constituents of O. smaragdina workers and generates hypotheses for future studies involving analytical confirmation and functional validation.