Metabolic Changes in the Nerve Tissue of the Silk Worm, Bombyx Mori Following Repeated Topical Application of Endosulfan

The fifth instar silkworm, Bombyx mori (pure Mysore breed) served as experimental animal. Sublethal doses (7μg/larval) of technical grade endosulfan (Yadwad and Kallapur, 1988) dissolved in acetone were applied topically to the dorsal side of the larva at intervals of 24h from the 2nd day to 6th day of larval development, whereas five-day old larvae were used for all single dose experiments. Larvae treated topically with acetone alone served as controls. The entire nerve cord along with brain was dissected and homogenized in appropriate medium and the clear supernatant obtained after centrifugation was used as a source of enzyme. The glycogen content was determined.