The Potential of Natural Carotenoids-Containing Sericin of the Domestic Silkworm Bombyx mori.
Int J Mol Sci
; 25(7)2024 Mar 26.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38612498
ABSTRACT
Sericin derived from the white cocoon of Bombyx mori has been attracting more attention for its utilization in food, cosmetics, and biomedicine. The potential health benefits of natural carotenoids for humans have also been well-established. Some rare strains of Bombyx mori (B. mori) produce yellow-red cocoons, which endow a potential of natural carotenoid-containing sericin. We hypothesized that natural carotenoid-containing sericin from yellow-red cocoons would exhibit better properties compared with white cocoon sericin. To investigate the physicochemical attributes of natural carotenoid-containing sericin, we bred two silkworm strains from one common ancestor, namely XS7 and XS8, which exhibited different cocoon colors as a result of the inconsistent distribution of lutein and ß-carotene. Compared with white cocoon sericin, the interaction between carotenoids and sericin molecules in carotenoid-containing sericin resulted in a unique fluorescence emission at 530, 564 nm. The incorporation of carotenoids enhanced the antibacterial effect, anti-cancer ability, cytocompatibility, and antioxidant of sericin, suggesting potential wide-ranging applications of natural carotenoid-containing sericin as a biomass material. We also found differences in fluorescence characteristics, antimicrobial effects, anti-cancer ability, and antioxidants between XS7 and XS8 sericin. Our work for the first time suggested a better application potential of natural carotenoid-containing sericin as a biomass material than frequently used white cocoon sericin.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bombyx
/
Sericins
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: