Bombyx mori.  蚕 Cán Silkworm   Order: Lepidoptera   
Sericulture, the practice of breeding silkworms for the production of raw silk, has been under way for at least 5,000 years in China, from where it spread to Korea and Japan, India and later the West. The silkworm was domesticated from the wild silkmoth Bombyx mandarina, which has a range from northern India to northern China, Korea, Japan, and the far eastern regions of Russia. The domesticated silkworm derives from Chinese rather than Japanese or Korean stock.
僵 蚕 Jiāng cán Dry body of Silkworm     
Nature: Neutral    FLAVOR: Salty, pungent, acrid
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Anticonvulsives for Endogenous Wind
1. Calm Internal Wind.
2. Transform Sputum, disperse coagulation. Relieves flatulence, resolves phlegm, loosens congestion.[1]
3. Stimulates channel activity.[1]
4. Kidney Jing tonic- contains Vit A.[3]
INDICATIONS
1. Convulsions, twitching, lymphadenitis under chin, itching, facial paralysis. Apoplectic aphasia, convulsions, numbness and spasms, fever with phlegm present (bronchitis, pneumonia).[1]
2. Headache, toothache, sore throat, erysipelas, tubercular cold sores, scrofula.[1]
PREPARATIONS: Decoction- Dry body 4-9 g.[1,2]
Bombyx mori- Caterpillar
  蚕 沙  Cán shā   Silkworm droppings- produced in Summer     
Nature: Warm  FLAVOR: Pleasant, acrid, sweet  CHANNELS: Liver, Spleen, Stomach
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Wind Damp Dispersing
1. Disperse Wind Dampness.[4]
2. Harmonise the Stomach and transforms turbid Dampness.[3] Reduces flatulence and removes moisture.[1]
3. Styptic.[3]
INDICATIONS
1. Wind Damp painful obstruction or damp, itchy rashes.[4] Rheumatoid aches and numbness.[1] Wind Damp painful obstruction in the lower back and difficulty in moving limbs.[3] Paralysis after stroke.[3]
2. Internal obstruction due to turbid Dampness; vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, abdominal pain, borborygmus, and spasms of the calf muscles.[4]Abdominal pain, vomiting diarrhea.[3] Vomiting and diarrhea in cholera, abdominal cramps.[1]
3. External application for bruising.[3]
4. Excessive bleeding conditions- for instance menorrhagia
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction- Droppings  3-9 g.[1] Or a suitable amount may be boiled in water for external bathing of affected parts.[1] 9-15 g.[3,4] May be taken alone. To make a poultice, roast the herb and apply it hot, wrapped in a towel. When used in decoctions it should be wrapped in cheesecloth.[4]
蚕 茧 Cán jiǎn  Silkworm cocoons    
Nature: Warm   FLAVOR: Pleasant
INDICATIONS
1. The cooked juice, taken internally, can quench thirst and cure polyuria.[1]
2. The burnt ashes taken by mouth can stop bleeding and cure blood in stools and metrorrhagia.[1]
僵 蚕 Jiāng cán Bombyx Batryticatus The dry stiffened larvae infected by the fungus Batrytis bassiana or Beauveria bassana.
Nature: Neutral, warm FLAVOR: Acrid, salty TOXICITY: Slightly toxic CHANNELS: Liver, Lung
FUNCTIONS
Extinguishes Wind and stops spasms and convulsions.[6]
Dispels Wind, disperses Wind-Heat and stops itching and pain.[6]
Transforms Phlegm, softens hardness, eliminates toxins and dissipates nodules.[6]
INDICATIONS
1. Childhood convulsions and facial paralysis Seizures due to Liver Wind or especially Wind-Phlegm-Heat.[6]
2. Headache, red eyes, a sore, swollen throat and itching skin lesions such as Wind-Rash from externally contracted Wind-Heat or Liver Wind.[6] Loss of voice.[6]
3. Phlegm-Heat scrofula, goiter and other Phlegm nodules.[6]
PREPARATIONS: 4-5 lava.[1] 3-10.g Powder: 1-3 g. Tincture: 2-4 ml.
Best quality is straight, fat, solid, white and with light cross-section.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Droppings: Phytol, P-sitosterol, cholesterol, ergosterol, tetracosanol, lupeol, carotene, vitamin B1.[1]
Research
Silk worm bodies infected with Batryticatus fungi. Antiepileptic Effects of Protein-Rich Extract from Bombyx batryticatus on Mice and Its Protective Effects against
H2O2-Induced Oxidative Damage in PC12 Cells via Regulating PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathways

Effect of crude extract of Bombyx mori coccoons in hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.
Ali MM, Arumugam SB.
Abstract
The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori and being a primary producer of silk is an economically important insect. These days the silk is emerging as a resource for solving a broad range of biological problems. The silk (Abresham) is popularly known as Abresham muqriz (muqriz means cut) in Unani medicine. Its cocoons are extensively used as an ingredient of various Unani formulations like Khameer-E- Abresham Sada, Khameere Abresham Hakeem Arshad Wala, Khameere Abresham Ood Mastagi Wala etc. and are used to treat many cardiac and nervous disorders. The hypolipidemic activity of this drug, along with Nepata Hindostana (Badranjboya) and Terminalia Arjuna (Arjan) has been documented. But action of extract of Bombyx mori cocoons as a single drug is not documented. That's why; it was decided to study its effect on hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. The Male New Zealand White rabbits all of 1.5kgs were selected for the study. After stabilization period (2 weeks) the rabbits were divided into 3 groups (Group I - Control, Group II Lesion Control and Group III treated with extract of Bombyx mori silk cocoon). Hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis were induced with 1% cholesterol diet. After induction of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis for twelve weeks, Group III rabbits were treated with Bombyx mori for 6 weeks (45 days). A significant decrease in hyperlipidemia was seen within 4 weeks of treatment. Histopathologically, the atherosclerotic plaques showed reduction in size. The third group showed a significant increase in the body weight and also an increase in the HDL cholesterol levels. The study concludes that extract of Bombyx mori cocoons has a significant effect on hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis probably because of its antioxidant and hypolipidemic effect.
J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2011 Apr;2(2):72-8. doi: 10.4103/0975-9476.82527. en.wikipedia.org

Study on the anti-tumor mechanism related to immune microenvironment of Bombyx Batryticatus on viral and non-viral infections of hepatocellular carcinoma
Ling Yuan, Zhitong Bing, Jiani Han, et. al.
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant primary liver cancer with poor prognosis. Most previous studies on anti-HCC effects of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have focused on the mechanism of direct action and few researchers considered that TCM can inhibit tumor progression and improve prognosis of HCC patients through regulating tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, network pharmacology combined bioinformatics methods were employed to analysis mechanism of Bombyx batryticatus (B. batryticatus, one of the most frequently used traditional Chinese animal medicines, has been used in some Asian countries for centuries as an anticancer agent, anti-inflammatory agent, and antioxidant.) in regulating TME of HCC. The results showed that 24 core targets and 2 compounds were identified from overlapping between differential expression genes related to HCC in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database and targets of B. batryticatus in TCMSP database. For further analyzing the role of TME heterogeneity of HCC on anti-HCC mechanism of B. batryticatus, the correlation of core targets related with overall survival of HCC with TME cells in hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (VIR) and non-hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (NVIR) were calculated, respectively. The results showed that AKR1C3, SPP1 were significantly related with macrophages in VIR and other targets including NR1I2, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 were significantly associated with macrophages in NVIR; the target protein AKR1C3 was significantly negative correlated with macrophages M1 in VIR (cor=–0.35, P-value<0.001) and the correlation between AKR1C3 and macrophages M1 was poor in NVIR group (cor = 0.064, P-value = 0.36). Additionally, survival curve of AKR1C3 showed that poor prognosis in VIR group can be related to high level of AKR1C3 (HR = 2.32, 95 % CI: 1.18–4.56, P-value = 0.012), and no signified gene can be found in NVIR group (P-value>0.05). In conclusion, the molecular mechanism of anti-HCC of B. batryticatus can be related to the tumor microenvironment to some extent. B. batryticatus may exert its anti-cancer effects and improve prognosis of patients by regulating macrophages M1 in VIR and NVIR through acting on different targets.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2020.109838 sciencedirect.com