Silkworm pupa, also known as white silkworm pupa or heavenly insect, is the dried whole body of the larva of the silkworm moth in the Bombycidae family that has died and become stiff due to infection by the white fungus. Silkworm pupa has a neutral nature, a pungent and salty taste, and enters the liver, lung, and stomach meridians. It has the functions of dispelling wind and relieving spasms, resolving phlegm and dispersing nodules. It is used to treat conditions such as stroke-induced aphonia, epilepsy, wind headache, windpipe wind, windpipe obstruction, scrofula tuberculosis, wind rash, erysipelas, and mastitis. It is a herb that dispels wind, resolves phlegm, and promotes blood circulation. It should be noted that there are fake silkworm pupa products in the market that use the rhizome of the plant Liparis japonica as a substitute for silkworm pupa, so attention should be paid to distinguishing between them.
Authentic Silkworm Pupa
The body of the silkworm pupa is cylindrical, often curved and wrinkled, measuring 2 to 5 centimeters in length and 4 to 7 millimeters in diameter. The surface is gray-white or light brown, often covered with white powdery aerial mycelium and conidia. The head, legs, and segments are all clearly visible. The head is round and yellowish-brown. The segments are distinct, and the tail is slightly bifurcated. It has 8 pairs of short legs that are slightly protruding. The texture is hard and brittle, easily breaking and with a flat cross-section. The color can be brown or black, often shiny, with a white outer layer that appears powdery, and four bright brown or black silk gland rings in the middle. When smelled, it has a slight fishy odor, and when tasted, it has a slightly salty flavor.
Fake Liparis japonica
Also known as grass stone silkworm or groundworm grass, its rhizome is elongated and resembles the body of a silkworm, with some appearing helical at the top and slightly pointed at both ends. It measures 1.5 to 4 centimeters in length and approximately 3 to 7 millimeters in diameter. The surface is brownish-yellow or yellow-brown, densely covered with white-brown narrow scales, and often wrinkled and shrunk. It has 5 to 15 segments, with visible dot-like bud marks and root marks between segments. The texture is hard and brittle, easily breaking with a flat cross-section, and is white in color. When smelled, it has a slight odor, and when tasted, it has a slightly sweet flavor. When soaked in water, it easily expands, and the segments are clearly visible.
Modern pharmacological research has shown that the alcoholic and aqueous extracts of silkworm pupa have sedative effects. The "Wuhu Zhuifeng Powder" made by combining silkworm pupa with cicada slough can reduce seizures caused by drugs such as diazepam, pentobarbital, cocaine, and nicotine, and also has a certain inhibitory effect on certain pathogenic bacteria. Clinical reports have shown that pill formulations made mainly from silkworm pupa can reduce blood sugar and urine sugar in patients with diabetes to varying degrees. When applied externally, it also has a significant effect on acute mastitis. On the other hand, fake Liparis japonica does not belong to the same family as silkworm pupa. One is an animal and the other is a plant. It does not possess the aforementioned effects of silkworm pupa. Although Liparis japonica can also be used as medicine, its effects of relieving surface, clearing the lungs, promoting diuresis, and detoxification are far different from those of silkworm pupa. Therefore, it cannot be used as a substitute for silkworm pupa to avoid delaying treatment.
