Determination of Minimum Effective Concentration of Alfalfa for Optimal Growth, Metabolism and Silk Production in the Silkworm,

The sericultural productivity could be effectively modulated by enriching the silkworm diet with exogenous factors like alfalfa, a widely used homeo medicine. The minimum effective concentration (MEC) that promotes optimal larval growth, activates metabolism and improves silk production has been determined in Bombyxmori, by a stepdown process starting from higher concentration (5%) to a lower concentration (1%) by running a parallel zero-dose control. The MEC for larval growth was determined by analyzing changes in the body weight and that of metabolism and silk production by assaying protein levels of the fat body, silk gland and haemolymph. The findings were meaningfully interpreted in terms of compound periodical growth rates. The study demonstrates that the MEC of alfalfa differs from tissue to tissue. While 2% alfalfa evokes optimal response in body growth and silk protein synthesis, 1% alfalfa triggers optimal protein synthesis in the fat body. Hence, 5% alfalfa in distilled water is recommended as the MEC for positive improvements in the larval growth and silk production and 1% alfalfa for modulating metabolism in the fat body of silkworm.