# Applicability of Honey on Silkworms (_Bombyx mori_) and Quality Improvement of Its Biomaterials
## 2 The Impact of Honey on _Bombyx mori_ Biological and Technological Traits
Furthermore, higher weight gain was observed in the experimental group, particularly of 348.23%, than in the other group that exhibited a weight gain of 204.54%. When it came to cocoon parameters, by dipping the mulberry leaves in an aqueous honey solution, it was observed that _Bombyx mori_ formed the cocoon earlier, but also it was noticed that the cocoon shape was more uniform and the weight was higher in the experimental group [30]. Nevertheless, a study was performed that investigated the impact of a honey-enriched traditional diet on the _Bombyx mori_ digestive metabolism, both on the digestive substrates and digestive enzymes. It was demonstrated that the _Bombyx mori_ digestive metabolism is based on the Hutchinson's principle, namely that during larval development, digestive substrates, such as proteins or cellulose, are accumulated in the gut wall cells, while the activity of the digestive enzymes are reduced. This study revealed that by supplementing with honey the traditional food of _Bombyx mori_, there was a significant growth when it came to substrate accumulation in the gut wall cells and a noticeable decline in the level of digestive enzymes. Their data showed that by adding honey in the silkworms' diet during the larval stages, the amount of total proteins found in the midgut recorded a significant increase, specifically from 1.04 mg/g it to 10.25 mg/g. In addition, by observing the protease activity, they noticed that it was much lower due to the addition of honey, namely it was 0.02 \(\upmu\)m proteins/h from 0.28 \(\upmu\)m proteins/h. In regard to the gut wall tissue, there was also an observed increase when it came to the total protein content, from 11.09 mg/g to 15.56 mg/g. Once again, the advantages of adding honey in _Bombyx mori_'s diet were underlined [33]. Along the same line, another study investigated the minimum effective concentration of honey as an exogenous nutrient that is needed for _Bombyx mori_ to acquire optimal larval growth and a substantial metabolic rate. The authors observed that the minimum effective concentration is tissue specific. They demonstrated that the concentration of honey is a key parameter, more specifically, while 2% honey is the optimal concentration for ideal larvae growth, 1% honey is required to acquire an optimal metabolism rate [34]. Keeping in view the optimal concentration of 2% honey for ideal larval growth, [34], another study was performed in order to investigate the impact of a honey-enriched diet on several parameters of _Bombyx mori_. They examined the honey's effect on the feeding patterns and proteins profiles, but on the larval and silk gland growth as well. By comparing the silk gland weight (g) of the group that received the traditional mulberry diet and the silk gland weight of the group that was fed the honey-enriched mulberry leaves, their data showed that by adding honey into the silkworms' diet, a great improvement was observed (Table 2) [35]. In regard to the three distinct regions of the silk gland, the authors compared the protein profiles and concluded that honey exhibits a remarkable influence. The most outstanding impact of the honey-supplemented diet on the protein profiles was observed in the PSG. There was a great difference between the control and the experimental group. Specifically, the mean of the total protein profiles (mg/g) of the control group on day 7 was 50.75 and the mean of the experimental group was 64.27. Their results demonstrate that by including honey in the silkworms' diet, productivity and, more importantly, the quality of the silk are enhanced. On the other hand, the author investigated the honey's impact on various economic parameters, such as shell protein, floss weight, floss protein, raw silk weight and so on. As expected, the experimental group revealed increased values, compared with the control group, for each parameter, emphasizing once again the advantage of using this sweetening agent in the silkworms' diet [35]. [PERSON] et al.