CityNews – 16th March 2016, Asst. Prof. Dr. Somchai Jomduang, researcher at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Agriculture, has discovered that the active ingredient in Thai silkworm pupae has similar activation as Sildenafil, or Viagra.
Two species out of seven, Nangnoi Si Sa Ket 1 and Yellow Surin, have the best ability to expand blood vessels. 100 mg of Viagra is equal to 22 Nangnoi Si Sa Ket 1 pupae.
However, he warned that eating the silkworm pupae won’t activate the ingredient, but once extracted and processed, manufacturers can use extractions to create supplementary medicine using these silkworm pupae.