Bombyx batryticatus (B. batryticatus), a well-known traditional animal Chinese medicine, has been commonly used in China for thousands of years. The present paper reviewed advances in traditional uses, origin, chemical constituents, pharmacology and toxicity studies of B. batryticatus. The aim of the paper is to provide more comprehensive references for modern B. batryticatus study and application. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) culture, drugs containing B. batryticatus have been used to treat convulsions, headaches, skin prurigo, scrofula, tonsillitis and fever. Many studies indicate B. batryticatus contains various compounds, including protein and peptides, fatty acids, flavonoids, nucleosides, steroids, coumarin, polysaccharide and others. Numerous investigations also have shown that extracts and compounds from B. batryticatus exert a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects both in vivo and in vitro, including effects on the nervous system, anticoagulant effects, antitumor effects, antibacterial and antifungal effects, antioxidant effects, hypoglycemic effects, as well as other effects. However, further studies should be undertaken to investigate bioactive compounds (especially proteins and peptides), toxic constituents, using forms and the quality evaluation and control of B. batryticatus. Furthermore, it will be interesting to study the mechanism of biological activities and structure-function relationships of bioactive constituents in B. batryticatus.

Purpose: Current antidepressants are limited by insufficient efficacy of conventional monoaminergic drugs and poor brain penetration across the blood-brain barrier. This study designed pure curcumin loaded lipid nanoparticle (CNP) with optimized brain-targeting delivery for depression therapy. Methods: Cur molecules first self-assembled into carrier-free drug nanoparticles. Subsequently, CNP were then prepared via thin-film dispersion and fully characterized in terms of particle size, PDI, DSC, XRD, TEM. The antidepressant effect of CNP was systematically investigated via in vitro and in vivo assays, including cellular uptake, LPS-induced stress model in BV2 cells, and in vivo CUMS depression model. Results: CNP displayed uniform spherical morphology with an average size of 115.8 ± 18.3 nm, PDI of 0.216 ± 0.015 and zeta potential of − 27.1 mV, along with high encapsulation efficiency (86.11 ± 4.28%), drug loading (6.62 ± 0.45%) and sustained release behavior. The cellular uptake efficiency of the CNP group reached 41.47 ± 1.45%, which was more than double that of the Cur group (17.21 ± 0.54%). In vitro studies showed that CNP not only rescued the viability of cells damaged by corticosterone and hydrogen peroxide but also exerted significantly enhanced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in lipopolysaccharide induced cellular stress models. In vivo studies indicated that CNP alleviated depressive-like behaviors more effectively. Conclusion: CNP exhibits significantly enhanced antidepressant efficacy, thus providing a promising approach for developing brain-targeted therapeutics for MDD.