Abstract

Sericin composed of 25 percent of silkwormcocoon shells, has the skin moisturizing effect, an inhibitoryeffect against lipid peroxidation and tyrosinase activity,and enhances cell proliferation. We bred a sericinproducing race, “Sericin Hope”, which makes a sericincocoon without fibroin fibre. This sericin, named VirginSericin, can be used as a new material in a wide variety offorms, including gel, cream, emulsion and foam mass.Furthermore, two coloured sericin producing races, “SericinFlavo” and “Sericin Carotene”, which contain flavonoid orcarotenoid ingredient in the cocoon shell respectively,were also developed. These coloured sericin cocoonsshow higher anti-oxidation activity than Sericin Hopecocoons. A shielding effect against ultraviolet rays wasfound not only in UV-B (280~315nm) but also in the UV-A(315~380nm) region. These sericin materials will contributeto maintaining healthy and beautiful skin.