Metabolomics Analysis Reveals the Potential Advantage of Artificial Diet-Fed Bombyx Batryticatus in Disease Treatment

<b>Background:</b><i>Beauveria bassiana</i> infection of silkworm forms <i>Bombyx Batryticatus</i> (BB). It is a medicinal material with significant pharmacological potential. While artificial diet feeding improves the production efficiency of BB, it might alter host metabolism, consequently affecting its bioactive components and efficacy. To address this, we conducted a metabolomics analysis of BB reared under different feeding conditions; <b>Methods:</b> UPLC-MS/MS was employed to conduct metabolomic analysis of BB under three rearing conditions: all instars mulberry leaf feeding (MF), all instars artificial diet feeding (AF), and mixed feeding (AMF). The sample collection time was selected as the time when silkworms died after infection (D0), and the fifth day after death (D5), which is the time when fungus produces biologically active secondary metabolites to reach a stable state; <b>Results:</b> Compared to MF, AF did not significantly alter the levels of the index component induced by <i>B. bassiana</i> infection-beauvericin. Moreover, the overall metabolic profile differences between the two groups decreased at the later stage (D5). Specifically, the average Pearson correlation between these groups was 0.659 ± 0.102, and the first two principal components of PCA explained 49.6% of the total variance. This suggests a reduction in the differences in their pharmacological active components. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that AF promoted the accumulation of certain flavonoids (e.g., apigenin, luteolin), but, overall, the biosynthesis of flavone and flavonol is suppressed. Additionally, several metabolites, including N,N'-diferuloylputrescine, N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid, and 3,4-dimethoxyphenylacetic acid, were identified to be significantly positively correlated with artificial diet supplementation; <b>Conclusions:</b> This study reveals metabolic differences in BB under different rearing methods at the metabolomic level, providing a scientific basis for evaluating the quality of this medicinal material.