Abstract:

Purpose: To observe the acute toxicity and genetic toxicity of silkworm cocoon hydrolysate powder. Methods:
Acute oral toxicity test, V79/HGPRT gene mutation test, bone marrow cell chromosome aberration test and sperm shape
abnormality test in mice were performed. CTX was used as positive control. Results: The median lethal dose (LD50) of
silkworm cocoon hydrolysate powder was more than 11.50 g/kg, which indicated that it was non-toxic. In V79/HGPRT
gene mutation test, the mutation rates of the tested substances at all dose levels did not reach levels 3 times higher than the
spontaneous mutation rate; meanwhile, there was no dose-effect relationship, suggesting that the results were negative. In
bone marrow cell chromosome aberration test and sperm shape abnormality test, there were significant differences between
the positive and negative control groups (P < 0.01), and between all dose and negative control groups (P > 0.05) except
that the aberration rate of the high dosage group was significantly lower than that of the negative control group (P < 0.05)
in sperm shape abnormality test. Conclusion: Silkworm cocoon hydrolysate powder is a substance without acute or genetic
toxicity in this test.

Key words: silkworm cocoon hydrolysate powder, mouse, acute oral toxicity, genetic toxicity