Flavonoid 5-glucosides from the cocoon shell of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

The flavonoid 5-glucosides, quercetin 5,4'-di-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and quercetin 5,7,4-tri-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, together with the known quercetin 5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, were isolated from the cocoon shell of the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis. These flavonoid glucosides were not present in mulberry leaves, the silkworm's only food, and they are considered to be metabolites produced by the silkworm. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.