Efficacy of probiotic and neutraceutical feed supplements against Flacherie disease in mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

摘要

Laboratory colonies of silkworm (Bombyx mori; Pure Mysore x NB4D2) were reared on mulberry leaves sprayed with Lact-Act (a probiotic powder containing Lactobacillus sporogens, Bacillus thuringiensis, yeast hydrolysate, alpha -amylase, and vitamin and mineral mix), Spirulina (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, beta -carotene, xanthophylls and chlorophyll) or Amnovit (vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin K, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, folic acid, choline chloride, lysine, methionine and L-tryptophan), then inoculated with Bacillus thuringiensis var. sotto and/or Staphylococcus aureus. Silkworm larvae reared on leaves sprayed with Lact-Act, Spirulina and Amnovit were less susceptible to the bacterial pathogens than the control. Infection by Bacillus thuringiensis var. sotto, S. aureus and mixed culture reached approximately 92.0, 89.2 and 92.8% in the control; 60.0, 62.64 and 62.0% in Lact-Act-treated larvae; 70.64, 72.0 and 72.0% in Spirulina-treated group; and 74.8, 77.2 and 73.2% in the Amnovit-treated group, respectively.