The ability of Alphitobius diaperinus homogenates immobilized on plant sorbent to block the development of mouse parkinsonism

Abstract

Insects have long attracted the attention of researchers as a source of biologically active sub� stances present in the tissues of different species of insects at various stages of their life cycle (1, 2). The analysis of the chemical composition of some species of invertebrates showed that the bee ( Apis mellifera), grasshoppers (family Acrididae), housecricket (Acheta domesticus), American cockroach (Periplan� eta americana), larval and adult mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), as well as larvae of the wax moth (Galleria mellonella), silkworm (Bombyx mori), blowfly (family Calliphoridae), black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), etc., contain not only proteins and fats, but also chitin, minerals, amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins, essential oils, and other biologically active sub� stances, including new antimicrobial peptides (3-9). In the scientific literature, there is scarce information about the possible medical use of extracts from the darkling beetle Ulomoides dermestoides from the family Tenebrionidae, which exhibit antiinflammatory and immunomodulating effect (10) and cytotoxicity with respect to A549 (lung adenocarcinoma) tumor cells (11). A species close to Ulomoides dermestoides is the beetle Alphitobius diaperinus, which is also used in folk medicine to treat various diseases, including one of the most socially important—Parkinson's disease. It was assumed that the Alphitobius diaperinus biomass homogenate may exhibit inhibitory activity with respect to MPTP (methylphenyl tetrahydropyri� dine)—a toxin that causes experimental parkinsonism in C57BL/6JSto mice (12, 13).