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Safety evaluation of protein of silkworm (Antheraea pernyi) pupae
1Department of Chemistry, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China. hustzhj@163.com
Insights
Silkworm pupae protein (PSP) is a safe, high-quality protein source. Toxicological studies confirmed no adverse effects, indicating general safety for human consumption.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Toxicology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Silkworm pupae protein (PSP) is recognized as a potential source of high-quality protein.
- PSP contains all essential amino acids required for human nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically evaluate the safety of Silkworm pupae protein (PSP).
- To assess acute and sub-acute toxicity of PSP through various toxicological tests.
Main Methods:
- Acute oral toxicity test in mice to determine the maximum tolerated dose.
- Mutagenicity assessment using Ames test, mouse bone marrow micronucleus test, and sperm abnormality test.
- A 30-day sub-acute feeding study in rats at varying doses (0.30, 0.75, 1.50 g/kg/day).
Main Results:
- The oral maximum tolerated dose of PSP in mice exceeded 15.0 g/kg body weight.
- PSP demonstrated no mutagenicity in bacterial and mammalian assays.
- Rats in the 30-day feeding study showed no significant adverse effects, mortality, or changes in hematology, clinical chemistry, or histopathology.
Conclusions:
- Silkworm pupae protein (PSP) is safe and well-tolerated in toxicological studies.
- PSP can be generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for consumption at doses up to 1.50 g/kg/day in rats.
- These findings support PSP as a safe and valuable protein ingredient.
Abstract:
The protein of silkworm pupae (PSP) has been thought to be a new available source of high quality protein that contains all the amino acids needed by the human body. The safety of PSP was evaluated systematically by a series of acute and sub-acute toxicological tests: (i) Acute toxicity test: The oral maximum tolerated dose of PSP was more than 15.0 g/kg body weight in mice, due to the absence of toxicity according to the criteria of acute toxic classifications; (ii) Mutagenicity test: PSP had no mutagenicity, as judged by a negative Ames test, mouse bone marrow cell micronucleus test and mouse sperm abnormality test; (iii) 30 days feeding study: No deaths or abnormal hematological, clinical chemical and histopathological changes and clinical signs had been found in rats when administrated PSP at 0.30, 0.75 and 1.50 g/kg/day to the rats for 30 days in each group during the test, respectively. No statistically significant differences had been found in body weights, food consumption and food efficiency of rats in each test group (P>0.05). These results indicate that PSP can be generally regarded as safe at a maximum dose of 1.50 g/kg/day in rats.
