Flavonoids from the cocoon of Rondotia menciana.

Two flavonol glycosides along with four known flavonoids were isolated from the cocoon of the mulberry white caterpillar, Rondotia menciana (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae: Bombycinae), a closely related species of the domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori, both of which feed on leaves of mulberry (Morus alba). The two glycosides were characterized as quercetin 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-d-galactopyranoside and kaempferol 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-d-galactopyranoside, based on spectroscopic data and chemical evidence. The flavonol galactosides found in the cocoon were not present in the host plant, nor in the cocoon of the silkworm, B. mori. Notably, flavonol glucosides, which are the main constituents of cocoon flavonoids in B. mori mori, were not found in the R. menciana cocoon. The present result strongly suggests that R. menciana is quite unique in that they predominantly use an UDP-galactosyltransferase for conjugation of dietary flavonoids, whereas UDP-glucosyltransferases are generally used for conjugation of plant phenolics and xenobiotics in other insects.