title: Biotransformation effect of Bombyx Mori L. may play an important role in treating diabetic nephropathy.
abstract: Compared with herbal drugs, medicine processed from animals (animal medicine) was thought to have more bioactive substances and higher activities. Biotransformation effect often plays an important role in their effect. However, researches about effect of animal medicine on diabetic nephropathy and applying animal medicine as natural bio-transformer were seldom reported. The purpose of this paper was to reveal the use of Bombyx Mori L. on diabetic nephropathy from ancient to modern times. The classical literature indicated that Saosi Decoction (), which contains Bombyx Mori L. or silkworm cocoon, was applied to treat disorders congruent with modern disease diabetic nephropathy from the Ming to Qing Dynasty in ancient China. Modern studies showed that Bombyx Mori L. contains four main active constituents. Among these, 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) and quercetin showed promising potential to be new agents in diabetic nephropathy treatment. The concentrations of 1-DNJ and the activities of quercetin in Bombyx Mori L. are higher than in mulberry leaves, because of the biotransformation in the Bombyx Mori L. body. However, these specifific components need further human and mechanistic studies to determine their therapeutic potential for this challenging condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
authors.forename: La
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research Service Team, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510120, China. drguoguo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xin-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510120, China. liuxu801@126.com.
authors.forename: Xu-Sheng
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001711:Biotransformation; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry*; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products
keywords: 1-deoxynojirimycin; Bombyx Mori L.; Chinese medicine; biotransformation; diabetic nephropathy; quercetin