Extraction and Biological Application of Silk Sericin: An Over View

Abstract

The sericin is a byproduct which is obtained from silk industries. Mainly Bombyx mori is responsible for the synthesis of sericin. Sericin is proteinaceous in nature and is biodegradable. The two major components of silk i.e., fibroin and sericin have to be removed from raw silk to give it a luster or shine by degumming process. Silk sericin and its nutritive value has now been known to everyone in China and Japan. Many uses of sericin like pharmaceutical uses, textile -based uses, use in cosmetics has now been explored in India but the use of sericin as dietary supplement is not still discovered. Tons of silk has been produced in India and the degummed water goes as waste which can be used. Nanotechnological discoveries of sericin have given foremost advances in the field of biomedicine and tissue engineering, with special consideration the applications of a natural product for the enhancement of new pharmaceutical formulations and biomaterials. Sericin conjugated nano formulation are a vast example of nanotechnological tools applied to the blueprint of an biocompatible, economically viable, and biodegradable compound as well as its use as nanomedicine. The aim of this review is to highlight the application of sericin in different fields like in biomedical, food additives and the nano formulation of silk sericin.