A Review on Medicinal Value of Silkworm Product and By-Products

Abstract

Sericulture is an agro based industry that includes production of raw silk by breeding, rearing of silkworm and cultivation of their host plants. The manufacture of various types of silk was the only emphasis of the traditional sericulture industry, and leftovers were typically disposed away as trash. Byproducts and products from sericulture can be used medicinally in addition to generating silk. The silkworm is a valuable tool in laboratory research and has been utilised as a model organism in life sciences, environmental monitoring, antimicrobial drug screening, and other applications.  Protein extract from silkworm eggs is used to improve memory and assist control weight. The silkworm's larvae are also beneficial medicinally; they include blood glucose-lowering agents and silkworm gut fibre, among other things. Similarly, silkworm pupae, a significant by-product of the silk reeling business, have great nutritional content and potential medical applications including hepatoprotection, anticancer, and anti-aging. They can be utilised as an alternative to conventional dietary supplements. As a result, functional sericulture under a new paradigm has replaced sericulture to produce solely silk fabric, greatly increasing farmer revenue while also relieving patient suffering.