Bioactive Potential of Selenium and Royal Jelly-Supplemented Silkworm Extracts: Antioxidant, Antidiabetic and Antihypertensive Properties

Abstract The integration of protein ingredients with high nutritional benefits into silkworm food leads to enhanced development of silkworms as well as improved cocoon output. Two natural antioxidants namely Royal Jelly (RJ) along with Selenium (Se) demonstrate recognized therapeutic properties. This study analysed the antioxidant effects and antidiabetic properties together with antihypertensive abilities of methanolic extracts obtained from four kinds of silkworm supplementation groups. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay together with reducing power assay (RPA) provided the assessment of antioxidant activity. The determination of antidiabetic activity employed an α-glucosidase inhibitory activity assay together with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory assay for testing antihypertensive activity. Studies measured the activity of silkworm extracts between concentrations of 50 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL which provided IC₅₀ values for analysis. The combined Royal Jelly and Selenium supplementation in Group IV silkworm diet led to superior antioxidant and antidiabetic and antihypertensive actions that surpassed those of silkworms getting Royal Jelly, Selenium or control feed. Experiments indicate that combining Royal Jelly with Selenium supplements shows great potential for enhancing bioactive characteristics found in silkworm-derived extracts.