In this study, an antimicrobial component, silk protease inhibitors (SPIs), was extracted from discarded silkworm cocoons, and a suitable degumming method for obtaining regenerated silk fibroin (SF) was screened. An edible antimicrobial coating was prepared by mixing SPIs with SF for evaluation of potential in strawberries preservation. Results demonstrated that SPI could effectively inhibit mycelial growth and spore germination. The alkaline protease method exhibited the highest degumming rate of 24.4 %. The SPI-SF coating exhibited excellent mechanical properties, high water vapor permeability, and easy washability. Within 10 days, seedlings treatment with SPI-SF coating solution showed a germination rate of 94.3 %, and exhibited good biocompatibility with HepG2 cells. Coating with SPI-SF led to increase in the storage period of strawberries to 10–14 days, concurrent with considerable reduction in decay rate at room temperature. Conclusively, this study demonstrates the potential of SPI-SF edible coating in strawberries preservation.

中文翻译：

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蚕丝蛋白：一种用于草莓保鲜的新型抗真菌和食用涂层


本研究从丢弃的蚕茧中提取抗菌成分蚕蛋白酶抑制剂 （SPIs），筛选出获得再生丝素蛋白 （SF） 的合适脱胶方法。通过将 SPIs 与 SF 混合制备可食用抗菌涂层，以评估草莓保鲜的潜力。结果表明，SPI 可有效抑制菌丝生长和孢子萌发。碱性蛋白酶法的脱胶率最高，为 24.4 %。SPI-SF 涂层表现出优异的机械性能、高水蒸气渗透性和易清洗性。在 10 d 内，SPI-SF 涂层溶液处理幼苗发芽率为 94.3 %，与 HepG2 细胞表现出良好的生物相容性。用 SPI-SF 包衣导致草莓的储存期延长至 10-14 天，同时在室温下显著降低腐烂速度。总之，本研究证明了 SPI-SF 可食用涂层在草莓保鲜中的潜力。