Antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects of pupae of the muga silkworm Antheraea assamensis

This study investigated the antioxidant, antityrosinase and antigenotoxic ability of pupae of the muga silkworm Antheraea assamensis. DPPH radical scavenging activity of methanolic pupae extract (MPE) with IC50 value of 25.83 µg/mL was highly correlated with MPE of in vitro lipid peroxidation activity (r=0.985, p>0.05) and antityrosinase activity (r=0.894, p<0.05). The MPE had significant higher phenolic (11.2 mg catechin/g) and flavanoid content (5.12 mg quercetin/g) (p<0.05). The major fatty acid compounds found in the pupae of the muga silkworm were palmitic acid (23.36%), oleic acid (15.31%), stearic acid (5.83%), linoleic acid (2.76%) and palmitoleic acid (0.73%). At concentration of 1 mg/mL, the pupae extract exhibit the protective effect on H2O2 induced DNA damage by Comet assay. The mineral contents of pupae were Al (9.67 mg/g), Ca (0.809 mg/g), K (0.59 mg/g), Mg (0.55 mg/g), and Zn (0.54 mg/g). Therefore, pupae could be used as natural antioxidants on food products.