抄録
Observation of cross-section of brown silk cocoon of Attacus atlas showed densely packed silk fibroin fibers with very thin sericin layer coating outside. Examination of A. atlas silk fiber was conducted to compare Philosamia ricini (Eri) and Bombyx mori silk fibers. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed peaks at 365.78, 372.06 and 327.41˚C, respectively. From study by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), A. atlas and Eri silk fibers showed strong absorption at 970 cm-1, 1050 cm-1, 1180 cm-1 and 1240 cm-1 which were not found in B. mori silk fiber. Ratios of sericin:fibroin in A. atlas, Eri and B. mori silks were 11:89, 13:87 and 28:73, respectively. Sericin extracted from A. atlas showed 65 times higher scavenging activity than that of B. mori sericin by assay with 2, 2’-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). These data suggested that a non-mulberry silkmoth, A. atlas, shared some properties more closely related to another non-mulberry silkmoth, Eri, than mulberry silkworm, B. mori in terms of both physico-chemical and mechanical properties including protein content.
