Effects of Physiological Active Substance Extracted from Silkworm Fece

Abstract

Silkworm (Bombyx mori ) feces have long been used in the pharmaceutical and food industries as a natural colorant. However, there is limited data on the bioactive compounds that constitute silkworm feces. This research emphasizes the antioxidant activity of different solvent and flavonoid extracts of silkworm feces. The solvents were ethanol, butanol, and water, while the methods utilized included ultrasonification, stirrer, reflux, and reflux after ultrasonification extraction. Results showed that butanol ultrasonification extraction (BUE) yield the lowest extraction (1.75%), while the other methods yielded 7 to 14%. The total polyphenol content utilizing BUE was 3.3 mg TAE/g, while water ultrasonification extraction (WUE) yielded the highest extraction rate with 51.6 mg TAE/g. The total flavonoid content was significantly higher using ethanol reflux extraction (EUE) at 266.8 mg QRE/g BUE, which was 158.3 and 151.3 mg QRE/g. Both DPPH radical scavenging activity and SOD-like (superoxide dismutase) activity, showed significant antioxidant effects. Finally, all other extracts except for BUE had a-glucosidase inhibition at 60%. Therefore, an effective extraction method for physiologically active substances must be selected.