Effect of Feeding Mulberry Leaves Supplemented with Calcium Chloride on Biochemical Contents of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

Oral Supplementation with 50, 100 and 150 ?g/ml calcium chloride to the fifth stadium larvae of CSR2xCSR4 biovoltine hybrid silkworm, B. mori on fat body glycogen, protein, and total lipids and haemolymph trehalose and protein have been studied. One of the four normal feeds per day was substituted with treated leaves fed to silkworms at fifth instar larvae. The controls were fed with the leaves dipped in distilled water and normal leaves. The fat body glycogen with 50 and 100 ?g/ml, haemolymph trehalose with 100 and 150 ?g/ml and fat body protein with all the calcium chloride treated groups were increased significantly when compared over respective carrier controls. There was significant increase in the haemolymph protein with 150 ?g/ml calcium chloride treated group. However, there was no significant change in the haemolymph protein with 50 and 100 ?g/ml calcium chloride treated groups when compared over the respective carrier controls. The fat body total lipids decreased significantly in all the groups treated with calcium chloride when compared over the respective carrier controls. These results indicated that the content of glycogen and protein of the far body and trehalose and protein content of the haemolymph to calcium chloride showed good response in CSR2xCSR4 bivoltine hybrid silkworm, B. mori.