• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.40-43
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• 2019

Mature silkworms (MS) of Bombyx mori have enlarged silk glands, which are known to be enriched with various functional materials. A special steaming method has been developed for processing MS with enlarged silk glands edible, by which the MS have become a potential health supplement for improving the quality of life. Steamed and lyophilized MS powder (SMSP) has been strongly believed to have various unidentified beneficial effects for humans. Therefore, the purpose of this mini-review is to summarize the various health promoting functionalities of SMSP, which have been published in the paper so far. Firstly, SMSP increased healthspan as well as lifespan, locomotor ability, and resistance to Parkinson's disease by enhancing olfaction and mitochondrial activity in neurons. Secondly, SMSP increased resistance to carcinogens causing liver cancers, improved both acute and chronic liver function with alcohol metabolism, and prevented alcohol induced stomach ulcers. Thirdly, SMSP reduced UVB-induced skin pigmentations and melanogenesis. Taken together, SMSP can be regarded as a promising natural health product to increase incomes for sericultural farm households in Korea as well as global human health and welfare.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.97-102
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• 2022

In this study, the antibacterial effect of silkworm extract and Momordica charantia extract on S. mutans and F. nucleatum was investigated. S. mutans or F. nucleatum and 0%, 2%, 4%, 8% concentration of silkworm powder or Momordica charantia powder extract were added to the BHI liquid medium and cultured, and the sample was measured at an optical density of 600nm. As a result, S. mutans, the absorbance value was significantly decreased only in 8% of the silkworm extract, and the absorbance value was significantly decreased in all concentrations in the Momordica charantia extract. The absorbance of F. nucleatum was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner in both the silkworm extract and the Momordica charantia extract. This suggests the possibility that silkworm extract and Momordica charantia extract can be used as materials for the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.82-86
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• 2002

Silk sericin powder was prepared by mechanical treatment from culled-cocoon extract of Bombyx mori silkworm. The physical and structural characteristics of sericin powder were investigated by instrumental analysis. The solubility of sericin powder was decreased nearly half of sericin lyophilized. Amino acid analysis showed that arginine content was decreased from 3.72% to 0.03∼0.07%. XRD showed that molecules of sericin were somewhat regularly arranged by mechanical treatment. On the other hand, FT-IR showed the molecular vibration of silk sericin was not induced by mechanical treatment. Thermal properties also did not changed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1718-1724
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• 2010

Bioactive and chemical properties of silkworm powder (SP) degradation by fruit extract containing the proteolytic enzymes of kiwifruit, papaya, pineapple and pear were investigated. Silkworm powder was incubated with extracts from each fruit at $60^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr. Protein content was slightly higher in the SP treated with fruit extract than that in the control SP. Major minerals were K, Ca, Mg, and Zn. Major fatty acids were linolenic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. When total protein patterns were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), silkworm protein was strongly degraded by the treatment of fruit extract from pineapple, papaya, and pear, but little silkworm degradation was observed in kiwifruit extract treatment. Fibriolytic activity was only detected in the SP by the fruit extract treatments from papaya and pear. DPPH radical scavenging activity was slightly stronger in the SP treated with fruit extract than that in silkworm powder. However, all these samples exhibiteda relatively low activity compared with the butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). These results may provide the basic data for understanding the biological activities and chemical characteristics of SP treated with fruit extract for development of functional foods.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 1999

The cost of artificial diets for silkworm is very expensive, so that it is essential to lower it in order to extend the period of silkworm rearing on artificial diets. In the present paper, the utilization of several kinds of grass powders was tried to use as an ingredient of artificial diet to reduce its production cost. The value of grass powder as an ingredient of artificial diet was assessed on the base of ingestability and growth of silkworms. As a result it was found it was found that they varied with the kinds and harvesting season of grasses. But it is appeared to be possible to use a grass powder as an ingredient for silkworm diet, when it contains 10~20% of grasses. Moreover, to cut the cost of diet, it is recommanded that the diet containing grass powder could be a applied to the polyphagous silkworm variety.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2000.09a
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• pp.102-102
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• 2000

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2000.09a
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• pp.103-103
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• 2000

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 1995

Studies were carried out to report breeding procedure and characteristics of Fb, a strain of silkworm with abnormal food habit polyphagous. Selection was continued up to the 14th generation toward higher incidence of cabbage leaves feeding variants. In the autumn of 1992(7th generation), selected strain were subjected to severe selection by feeding them on artificial diet that did not contain mulberry leaf powder. The results were clearly positive and reached to higher than 95% of cabbage feeding in the 14th generation. This strain was first discovered by feeding cabbage leaves, but later they were observed to eat some kind of plants like lettuce, Chinese cabbage, radish, beet, apple, persimmon, pear, etc. As described above the procedure, cabbage feeding trait was clearly heritable. The strain responsible for this traits was named Fb.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.33-39
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• 2019

Freeze-dried silkworm powder has been approved as a functional ingredients for blood glucose control since 2009. Proximate and nutrient compositions of silkworm powder was summerized as bellow. Silkworm powder contained 4.7% moisture, 57.7% crude protein, 9.5% crude fat, 5.4% crude fiber, and 9.3% ash. The larval protein contained 18 known amino acid including glutamic acid and aspartic acid. Fat is composed of 3:7 ratio of saturated fatty acid to unsaturated fatty acid including various essential fatty acids. It contained 34.7 linolenic acid, 24.4% oleic acid, 20.2% palmitic acid, 9.2% stearic acid, and 7.7% linoleic acid. Five minerals, K, P, Ca, Mg, S were abundant in the silkworm powder with other minerals such as Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.8-12
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• 1981

Practical application of silkworm artificial diet is very desirable to save labour in sericultural industry as the problem of labour shortage is becoming serious in Korea. However, silkworms reared on the artificial diet are more susceptible to viruses than those reared on mulberry leaves because of the lower anti-viral activity of gut juice of silkworms grown on artificial diet compared with that of silkworms grown on mulberry leaves. In this study, authors investigated the varietal difference of silkworm larvae, Bombyx mori L., reared on artificial diet which contained 20 percent of dried mulberry powder, in the susceptibility to nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV). The results showed that there is no difference in susceptibility to NPV among tested varieties when high concentration of NPV was admitted to silkworm larvae, but varietal difference appeared in lower concentration admitted. Among 7 hybrids tested, Hansaeng 1${\times}$Hansaeng 2 was most resistant to NPV with an $LC_{50}$ of 2.7${\times}$10$\^$6/ and Jam 111${\times}$Jam 112 was also more resistant comparatively than other hybrids.