Bioactive Secondary Metabolites of Wild <em>Antheraea mylitta</em> Silkworm Cocoons

The wild silkworm Antheraea mylitta is grown and cultivated in several parts of India ranging from Bihar to West Bengal and several parts of Telangana. The wild silkworm rearing has been a source of income for the tribal populations who rely on it as income source; the intervention of government agencies has increased the cultivation. Our research involves understanding the secondary metabolites in the silkworm Cocoons and elucidating how the pupa survives the harsh environment during pupal diapause of the insect. We have realized the role of insect repellent compounds and other metabolites and their interaction with the insect. Wild silkworm Cocoons are the specialized natural structures constructed by Antheraea mylitta silkworms. They are the protein composites of sericin and fibroin as a structural material. The silkworm cocoons are presumed to be evolved structures through the course of evolution over millions of years. This chapter focuses on Biophysical analysis of chemical compounds, proteins and other secondary metabolites traced in the Wild Antheraea mylitta Tasar cocoons which are predicted to be the key factors to achieve the unique structural and chemical barriers to protect the pupa within the cocoons

Synthesis, molecular docking, and biological evaluation of methyl-5-(hydroxyimino)-3-(aryl-substituted)hexanoate derivatives

Beta-aryl keto hexanoic acids (5a-l) were synthesized efficiently, followed by esterification that afforded beta-aryl keto methylhexanoates (6a-l). The chemo-selective ketoxime beta-aryl methyl hexanoates (7a-l) were isolated in good yields. Spectroscopic methods were used to characterize the obtained moieties. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties of the effectively synthesized compounds 7a-l were also investigated. The anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds 7c, 7f, 7i, and 7l was excellent, with a low IC50 value at micromolar concentration, which was much better than the reference diclofenac. All synthesized compounds 7a-l were assessed for their in vitro antibacterial activity against S. aureus, B. subtilis and E. coli.  Most of the compounds exhibited promising activity against Gram-positive bacterial strain, compound 7i showed excellent activity compared to standard streptomycin and in the case of E. coli, compounds 7b, 7c, 7j, 7k and 7l have shown moderate activity. Further, the cytotoxic activities of the compounds were assessed against lung cancer cells (A549) by using MTT assay. The possible interaction mechanism of the molecules 7c and 7g with Gram-negative strain E. coli DNA gyrase B in complex with PDB ID: 4DUH was studied