Korean antheraea yamamai silkworm cocoon

摘要

Introduction: Wild silkworm makes cocoon with different size and color. Among them, Antheraea yamamai Guerin-Meneville has been cultured in Korea for several thousand years. However, the general characteristics of Korean Antheraea yamamai Guerin-Meneville had not been reported. The authors cultured Antheraea yamamai silkworm in Suwon and harvested to study. Materials and Methods: Wild silkworm cocoon was harvested in Korean farm. The basic characteristics of Antheraea yamamai cocoon was measured using gravimetric analysis. The primary structure and crystalline structure was measured using amino acid analyzer and X-ray diffractometer. Results and Discussion: The yellow-green silkworm makes yellowish green cocoon. It can be peeled out several layer with different color. The outmost layer showed yellowish green, but the innermost layer showed white color. The average weight and thickness of Antheraea yamamai cocoon shell is 0.528 g and 0.424 mm. Amino acid composition of Antheraea yamamai cocoon was analyzed. The main amino acid composition of A. yamamai is alanine, glycine, serine, aspartic acid, tyrosine and arginine. It showed strong scattering peaks around 2 theta = 17 and 20° and specific sharp peaks. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the surface of Antheraea yamamai cocoon has some crystals through the cocoon regardless of inner or outer shell. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that Antheraea yamamai cocoon showed thermal stable until 200°C.