Research Progress on the Culture of Castor Silkworm and the Detection of Potential Toxins
The castor silkworm is an economic insect belonging to the family Lepidoptera.It uses castor leaves as its main food,taking in the nutrients it needs to grow and develop at all stages of its life.More and more regions and countries are starting to breed castor worms.However,castor leaves contain a variety of toxic substances,and it has yet to be researched whether cas-tor worms are harmless to humans.This paper briefly described the management of the castor silkworm,discussed the possible detection of ricin,ricin toxin,haemagglutinin and allergenic toxins in castor leaves,and gave a brief outlook on the applica-tion of castor silkworm in relation to food,with a view to providing a theoretical reference for future studies on the assessment of food safety in castor silkworm.