Oral Toxicity and Hypotensive Influence of Sericin-Derived Oligopeptides (SDOs) from Yellow Silk Cocoons of in Rodent Studies.

Sericin-derived oligopeptides (SDOs) from yellow silk cocoons exhibit antihypertensive and hypoglycemic properties in both in vitro and in vivo studies. This study investigated the acute toxicity of SDOs as a novel food for human consumption using female ICR mice and Wistar rats, as well as the chronic toxicity test on both sexes of Wistar rats. Clinical chemistry, hematology, and histopathological studies revealed that SDOs were safe for a single dose of 2000 mg kg-1 body weight (BW) and daily oral administration of 50, 100, and 200 mg kg-1 BW for six months.

Hypoglycemic Ability of Sericin-Derived Oligopeptides (SDOs) from Yellow Silk Cocoons and Their Physiological Effects on Streptozotocin (STZ)-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Patients with diabetes require daily medication to maintain blood sugar levels. Nevertheless, the long-term use of antidiabetics can lose efficacy and cause degeneration in some patients. For long-term diabetes care, integrating natural dietary foods and medicine is being considered.

Storage stability and antioxidant activities of lutein extracted from yellow silk cocoons () in Thailand.

This study aimed to determine how different forms of lutein found in nature affected their thermal stability, degradation, and antioxidant activities. The findings show that commercial lutein (CL) degraded faster than silk luteins (SLs) at ≤ 4 °C. The two-stage first-order kinetics of thermal degradation showed that for SLs was 4.

Integrated Evaluation of Dual-Functional DPP-IV and ACE Inhibitory Effects of Peptides Derived from Sericin Hydrolysis and Their Stabilities during In Vitro-Simulated Gastrointestinal and Plasmin Digestions.

Sericin, a byproduct of the silk industry, is an underutilized protein derived from the yellow silk cocoon. This research aimed to produce and characterize the bioactive peptides from sericin using various enzymatic hydrolysis methods. Alcalase, papain, neutrase, and protease were tested under their respective digestion conditions.

Novel daily disposable therapeutic contact lenses based on chitosan and regenerated silk fibroin for the ophthalmic delivery of diclofenac sodium.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of chitosan and regenerated silk fibroin (CS/RSF) blended films as novel biomaterials for daily disposable therapeutic contact lenses based ophthalmic drug delivery system. Diclofenac sodium (DS), a hydrophilic anti-inflammatory agent, was loaded into CS/RSF films by a soaking method. The best conditions of DS loading manifested the loading time of 2 h and pH 6.

Protective effects of silk lutein extract from Bombyx mori cocoons on β-Amyloid peptide-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells.

Beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), invokes a cascade of oxidative damage to neurons and eventually leads to neuronal death. This study evaluated the protective effects of lutein extract from yellow cocoons of Bombyx mori, and its underlying mechanisms against was investigated to assess its protective effects and the underlying mechanisms against Aβ-induced neuronal cell death in cultured rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. Aβ-induced neuronal toxicity is characterized by decrease in cell viability, increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, activation of mitochondrial death pathway, and activation the phospholyration of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) pathway.

Influence of fat and oil type on the yield, physico-chemical properties, and microstructure of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) deposits.

Fat, oil, and grease (FOG) deposit, in the form of calcium soap, was found to cause sanitary sewer overflows due to its adhesion on pipe walls. To address this problem, laboratory-prepared calcium soaps have been used to investigate the formation mechanisms of FOG deposits. However, the fats and oils previously utilized were limited and some soap characteristics were not examined.

Hypocholesterolemic effect of sericin-derived oligopeptides in high-cholesterol fed rats.

The beneficial effect of cholesterol-lowering proteins and/or peptides derived from various dietary sources is continuously reported. A non-dietary protein from silk cocoon, sericin, has also demonstrated cholesterol-lowering activity. A sericin hydrolysate prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis was also expected to posses this effect.

Immune enhancement activities of silk lutein extract from Bombyx mori cocoons.

Background: Declining immune function poses an important clinical challenge worldwide and supplementation with natural products that possessing immune enhancing properties is a promising approach for preventing or delaying immune function decline. Cocoons from yellow silkworms are a significant source of lutein, and this unexplored silk extract could be a viable alternative source for dietary lutein. This study assessed immunomodulatory activities of the silk lutein extract.

Hypotensive and vasorelaxant effects of sericin-derived oligopeptides in rats.

Sericin-derived oligopeptides obtained from silk cocoons were investigated for the in vivo hypotensive effect and investigated for the underlying mechanism involved in vasodilation in isolated rat thoracic aorta. In normotensive anesthetized rats, oligopeptides induced an immediate and transient hypotensive activity. In rat aortic rings, oligopeptides induced a concentration-dependent vasorelaxation in vessels precontracted with both KCl and phenylephrine (PE) with endothelium-intact or endothelium-denuded rings.

Protective effect of silk lutein on ultraviolet B-irradiated human keratinocytes.

Carotenoids are efficient antioxidants that are of great importance for human health. Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotinoids present in high concentrations in the human retina which are involved in the photoprotection of the human eye. Lutein may also protect the skin from ultraviolet (UV)-induced damage.

Silk lutein extract and its combination with vitamin E reduce UVB-mediated oxidative damage to retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Increased exposure to solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation may promote age related macular degeneration (AMD). Lutein can protect retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from various oxidative insults but its direct protection against UVB has not been reported. This study aimed to demonstrate protective effects of silk lutein extract against UVB-induced oxidative damage to RPE cells and compared with standard lutein and Trolox, a vitamin E analog.

Fibroin and fibroin blended three-dimensional scaffolds for rat chondrocyte culture.

Background: In our previous study, we successfully developed 3-D scaffolds prepared from silk fibroin (SF), silk fibroin/collagen (SF/C) and silk fibroin/gelatin (SF/G) using a freeze drying technique. The blended construct showed superior mechanical properties to silk fibroin construct. In addition, collagen and gelatin, contain RGD sequences that could facilitate cell attachment and proliferation.

Effects of silk sericin on the proliferation and apoptosis of colon cancer cells.

Sericin is a silk protein woven from silkworm cocoons (Bombyx mori). In animal model, sericin has been reported to have anti-tumoral action against colon cancer. The mechanisms underlying the activity of sericin against cancer cells are not fully understood.

Sericin reduces serum cholesterol in rats and cholesterol uptake into Caco-2 cells.

A cholesterol lowering effect of sericin was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. Rats were dosed with cholesterol with and without sericin for 14 days. Non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total serum cholesterols were reduced in rats fed high-cholesterol diet with all three tested doses of sericin (10, 100, and 1000 mg kg(-1) day(-1)).