• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.204-209
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• 1986

The functional properties of defatted silkworm larvae flour and protein concentrate have been compared with those of soybean. The protein contents of soybean and silkworm larvae protein concentrate were 70.3% and 84.1%, respectively. The solubility of silkworm larvae protein concentrate was lower than that of soybean protein at various pH tested. However, silkworm larvae protein concentrate showed better fat absorption, poorer water absorption and overall higher bulk density than soybean protein. The silkworm larvae protein concentrate showed higher emulsifying capacity and stability, but showed lower foaming capacity and stability than soybean protein. Silkworm larvae protein concentrate showed highest viscosity among various protein products at all concentrations and reached the highest viscosity at 5${\sim}$7% protein concentration. Therefore, high emulsification properties of silkworm larvae protein concentrate will be a good protein source when it is added to emulsified food.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.201-207
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• 2018

Purpose: Obesity, a worldwide epidemic, is associated with insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Many strategies, including natural alternative anti-obesity agents, are used widely to prevent obesity. This study examined the effects of silkworm hemolymph on the weight control of C57BL/6N mice fed with a high-fat diet. Methods: The mice were divided into five groups: normal group (N), high-fat diet group (HFC), high-fat diet and silkworm hemolymph (at dose of 1 mL/kg BW (HFS-1), 5 mL/kg BW (HFS-5) and 10 mL/kg (HFS-10) for 12 weeks. Results: After 12 weeks treatment, the administration of silkworm hemolymph decreased the final body weight significantly along with a decrease in the weights of epididymal fat and total fat. The plasma LDL-cholesterol concentration was significantly lower in the HFS-1, HFS-5, and HFS-10 groups than in the HFC group. In addition, the leptin level of the HFS groups was significantly lower than those of the HFC group without a change in the plasma insulin concentration. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the silkworm hemolymph may have the potential to prevent obesity.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.93-119
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• 2014

Tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is a polyphagous silk producing forest silkworm of commercial importance in India. Forest dependent people rear its larvae on different forestry host plants twice or thrice in a year for small household income. Larvae of A. mylitta feeds on many forest tree species, but always show a great degree of selectivity as a function of its behavioural responses to physical structure and chemical features of the host plants. Cocoon crop of A. mylitta is influenced by heterogeneity of tasar food plants and climatic conditions of the habitat. The role of host plants, temperature, humidity, rainfall, photoperiod and climatic variables on the growth and development of insects have clearly been demonstrated. This article entails an in-depth analysis on ecological and nutritional aspects of A. mylitta, which may provide selective information to researcher and forest managers, who are particularly associated with livelihood improvement of the poor people in forested area through location specific forest insect industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.706-711
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• 1992

Silkworm larvae protein concentrate was partially hydrolyzed at $50^{\circ}C$ by papain at pH 2.0 and pepsin at pH 7.0 for 10min and 60min and the effect of enzymatic modification on the functional properties of silkworm larvae protein concentrate was examined. The degrees of hydrolysis measured by TCA-soluble nitrogen content were 10.2% and 19.2% when hydrolyzed by pepsin for 10min and 60min. The nitrogen solubility in water and 0.03M $CaCl_2$ was increased with increasing the degree of hydrolysis, and bulk density, water and oil absorption were also enhanced by enzymatic hydrolysis when compared with the control.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2016

The mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori has been one of the most important domestic animals which have provided with silk fibers for weaving fabrics and a food for a protein and lipid source. In addition, various health improvement effects of diverse silkworm larval powders were reported. Recently we found that steamed and freeze-dried mature silkworm larval powder (SMSP) generated using white-jade (also known as Backokjam) silkworm variety extended healthspan and increased resistance to Parkinson's disease in animal models. Because the colors of cocoons in silkworm varieties were caused by altered signal transduction pathways transporting phytochemicals from intestinal lumens to silk glands, we performed the proximate, amino acid, mineral, carbohydrates, fatty acid, and cholesterol composition analyses of SMSPs of 3 silkworm varieties which were weaving light yellow, golden, and red cocoons. Although most of nutrient compositions among 3 SMSPs were similar, there were significant differences in certain amino acids, minerals, and fatty acid compositions. Red silk silkworm (RS)-SMSP had higher contents of crude proteins and total amino acids than other SMSPs. In addition, the ratio of n-3/n-6 unsaturated fatty acids were higher than the other SMSPs. In contrast Golden silk silkworm (GS)-SMSP had higher ratio of potassium/sodium than the other SMSPs. These nutrient analysis results suggested that 3 SMSPs might have common and unique health improvement effects. Thus, further studies in the functionalities of the 3 SMSPs will reveal unknown their health improvements effects.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.21 no.6 s.90
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• pp.769-775
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• 2005

In this study we isolate substances to serve as dietary resources in order to replace the female hormone. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) is one of the most attractive hosts for large-scale production of eukaryotic proteins which have been proven safe as a dietary resource. We report on the estrogenicity of a mixture of silkworm pupa and herbs (Ginseng,Ulkeum, and Hasuo) using the immature rat uterotrophic assay in vivo. Silkworm pupa aqueousextract (KW) and silkworm oil extract (KO) induced effects on the immature rat uterotrophic assay. KO showed neither positive uterotrophic response nor inhibition on E2 induced effect, while KW and MK (mixture of KW and herbs) showed both of the effects. It is concluded that ethanol extracts from silkworm might be a good, therapeutic, natural product for hormone-deficient diseases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 1997.06a
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• pp.133-158
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• 1997

Since 1992, Sericulture & Entomology Research Institute(NSERI) and Kyung Hee University group screened an activity of lowering blood-glucose levels with silkworm related materials such as silkworm larvae powder, dried feces, pupae and silkworm moth in other to guide laymans to rational and educated utilization of silkworm-related materials for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In experiments examining several silkworms in different stages and prepared in different conditions, a freeze dried silkworm powder of 5th instar 3rd day showed a higher glucose lowering activity about 20% than heat dried matured silkworm powder. Among the three dosage of 500mg, 830mg and 1,160mg in ate preliminary clinical trial, the 830mg exhibited a significant effect on postprandial blood glucose level and did and did not cause any hypoglycemic side effect. In the blood glucose lowering activity of mulberry and silkworm varieties, the Yongcheonppong and Samkwangjam showed the highest activity for lowering blood glucose levels. In experiments to see the difference in blood-glucose lowering activity between either male and female or larvae and pupae, activity of larvae was higher than that of pupae and the male was higher than female. The heating dry and artificial diet showed lower than mulberry diet and normal freeze dry of the 5th instar 3rd day. Among the sericultural products, larvae showed the highest activity. We find out the fact that effect of silkworm powder attributed to the inhibition of ${\alpha}$-glucohydrolase catalyzed reaction in the small intestine.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.593-598
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• 2005

Osteoporosis is recognized as one of the major hormonal deficiency diseases, especially in menopausal women and the elderly. When the estrogen level is reduced in the body, local factors, which are known to be related with bone resorption, are increased and promote osteoclastogenesis. In our previous study, we validated the estrogenicity of silkworm pupa. In this study, we investigated the effect of silkworm pupa extract (SPE) on the function of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. SPE (10 and $50\;{\mu}g/mL$) significantly elevated cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and collagen content in the cells. The effect of SPE ($50\;{\mu}g/mL$) in increasing cell viability, ALP activity, and collagen content was completely inhibited by the presence of $10^{-6}\;M$ of cycloheximide and $10^{-6}\;M$ of tamoxifen, suggesting that SPE's effect results from a newly synthesized, protein component and that it might be partly involved in estrogen action. Furthermore, we examined the effect of SPE on the $H_2O_2-induced$ apoptosis and production of local factors in osteoblasts. Treatment with SPE ($50\;{\mu}g/mL$) decreased the 0.2 mM $H_2O_2-induced$ apoptosis and the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6 and nitric oxide (NO) in osteoblasts. Our data indicate that the enhancement of osteoblast function by silkworm pupa may prevent osteoporosis and inflammatory bone diseases.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.19-22
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• 2001

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) exhibits potent anti-carcinogenic and other biological activities in several animal models. We report here that dietary CLA, chemically synthesized from corn oil, accumulates I silkworm, Bombyx mori, which is used as therapeutic agent for diabetes in Korea and Japan. Mulberry leaves treated with 0.1 or 10% CLA in ethanol were supplied to silkworms from the end of 3rd instar to the 3rd day of the 5th instar. Fresh mulberry leaves or leaves treated with 10% corn oil in ethanol were fed as a check treatment. the amount of total lipids in the larval body ranged from 17.4 to 19.1mg/g of body tissue, which was not significantly affected by the source of the diets. No CLA was found in the control silkworms. But the level of CLA significantly increased to 83.5 mg/g of fat, when fed with mulberry leaves treated with 10% CLA. Only trace amounts of CLA were detected in the larvae reared with check leaves and 0.1% CLA-treated leaves. Mulberry leaves treatd with corn oil or CLA were not palatable to the larvae, resulting in a reduction of larval weight. These results suggest that silkworms containing CLA in body lipids could be producted by dietary CLA.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.253-258
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• 2007

Bombycis corpus, a batryticated silkworm and white-stiff silkworm, is an oriental drug consisting of the dried larva of silkworm, dead and stiffened due to the infection of Beauveria. An peptidyl antimicrobial molecule was purified from B. corpus by reverse phase-column chromatography and HPLC. Its molecular weight was determined to be 2295.45 by using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Its antimicrobial activity was diminished by trypsin digestion. It exhibited a broad antimicrobial spectrum against not only Gram-negative, but also Gram- positive bacteria. Furthermore, it was found to have an antimicrobial activity against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), methicillin-resistant S. arureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-intermediate resistant S. arureus (VISA). It may be a useful molecule for a new antibiotic development, especially against antibiotic resistant microbe. This substance may play a role in the defense system of this animal against Beauveria bassiana. This is the first report of a peptidyl antimicrobial substance from B. corpus.