Possibilities and Conditions of Developing Mulberry Silkworm Rearing in Poland, Especially for Purposes Related to the Production of Natural Cosmetics Based on Silk Proteins Obtained from Silkworm Cocoons

ABSTRACT

Sericulture is associated primarily with the production of cocoons for textile purposes. However, the widespread availability of synthetic fibers caused a decline in interest in natural fabrics, including silk. Changing trends on the textile market made it necessary to find the new possibilities of using mulberry silkworm cocoons. Due to the, fact that the silk fiber is made mainly of two proteins – sericin and fibroin they began to be used in the cosmetics industry. Smoothing, moisturizing, nourishing and anti-wrinkle properties have made cosmetics based on silk proteins very popular. Research conducted among consumers shows that when choosing cosmetics, they are more and more often guided not only by the price, but also by the composition and origin of the ingredients. The fully organic rearing of the mulberry silkworm provides raw materials with valuable properties. The possibilities of using cocoons in cosmetics constitute an alternative to the use of cocoons in the textile industry. We examined the prospect of revitalizing the Polish silk industry in the view of testing whether silkworm farming in Poland may become a common and profitable activity.

摘要

蚕业主要与纺织用蚕茧的生产有关. 然而, 合成纤维的广泛使用导致人们对包括丝绸在内的天然织物的兴趣下降. 纺织品市场的变化趋势使得有必要寻找使用桑蚕茧的新可能性. 由于丝纤维主要由两种蛋白质组成——丝胶蛋白和丝素蛋白, 它们开始用于化妆品行业. 光滑,保湿,滋养和抗皱的特性使得基于丝蛋白的化妆品非常受欢迎. 在消费者中进行的研究表明, 在选择化妆品时, 他们越来越多地不仅受到价格的影响, 还受到成分组成和来源的影响. 桑蚕的完全有机饲养为原料提供了有价值的特性. 在化妆品中使用蚕茧的可能性构成了纺织工业中使用蚕茧的替代品. 我们考察了振兴波兰丝绸业的前景, 以测试在波兰养蚕是否可能成为一种常见且有利可图的活动.

KEYWORDS:

• Silkworm (Bombyx mori L.)
• fibroin
• sericin
• natural cosmetics

关键词:

• 家蚕; 丝素; 丝胶; 天然化妆品

Acknowledgments

This article was prepared as a result of the realization of the project entitled: “Maintaining a unique Polish breeding of the mulberry silkworms varieties”. This project is financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego), contract number 11/E-198/SPUB/SN/2019.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education [11/E-198/SPUB/SN/2019].