Silkworms Reconnect Human and Planetary Health

Morus Inc. (CEO: Ryo Sato, headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter 'Morus') is a university-originated biotech startup dedicated to creating a new food and nutrition industry that simultaneously advances human and planetary health through its silkworm-derived functional ingredient 'MorSilk® Powder' and proprietary functional food brand 'KAIKO®'.

Our goal is not merely insect-based food or alternative protein. We aim to connect Japan's 5,000-year sericulture wisdom with modern nutrition science, food science, and sericulture technology to address contemporary health challenges—such as blood sugar, gut health, immunity, oxidation, glycation, and cholesterol—from a preventive perspective through daily diet. By redesigning the cycle connecting mulberry trees, silkworms, regional industries, research institutions, and consumers, we are creating a new model for Japan-originated, nutrient-rich food materials—'domestic nutritional resources'—that protect and utilize natural capital.

Eating should not only nourish people's bodies but also support regional primary industries and natural environments. Morus is striving to implement this future.

Global health challenges are expanding into interconnected issues from production to dining tables

Globally, lifestyle diseases, aging populations, malnutrition, protein crises, climate change, and food security are progressing simultaneously. While these may appear as separate issues, they share a fundamental question: What do we eat, where do we source it from, and how do we consume it? And how do our food choices impact both human health and the Earth's environment?

Modern food systems have pursued affordability, quantity, and convenience, but have also created side effects such as increased metabolic diseases, over-processing, import dependency, and environmental strain. Healthcare cannot be confined within medical institutions alone. We must redesign the daily dining table itself as infrastructure supporting prevention, pre-disease care, performance, and well-being.

The silkworm, which Morus focuses on, is a domesticated organism that has supported Japan's traditional industries. By reinterpreting this biological resource—long coexisting with human life—through modern nutrition science, we have uncovered the potential for a new industry that connects food, health, and natural capital.

Morus's challenge: Redefining silkworms as 'high-functionality bio-raw materials'

Morus does not view silkworms merely as 'edible insects,' but as a high-functionality bio-raw material platform that absorbs, transforms, and concentrates nutrients from mulberry leaves. Our proprietary MorSilk® Powder is a 100% natural functional ingredient containing silk proteins derived from silkworms—such as sericin and fibroin—along with plant-derived beneficial components from mulberry, including DNJ (1-deoxynojirimycin) and polyphenols.

DNJ is known for its role in inhibiting sugar absorption. MorSilk® Powder is being researched and developed as a comprehensive health-supporting ingredient for blood sugar management, gut and immune health, glycation and oxidation, and cholesterol. Additionally, with its natural matcha-like flavor and excellent powder processing properties, it is being applied across diverse food categories, including protein powders, beverages, supplements, gastronomy, and OEM products.

Furthermore, Morus collaborates with domestic and international research institutions such as the University of Illinois and Singapore's government research agency A*STAR to scientifically validate the functionality and nutritional value of its ingredients. A 2026 study published in the international academic journal Journal of Insects as Food and Feed demonstrated that the bioavailability of zinc in Morus's silkworm powder is higher than that from mulberry leaves, suggesting that silkworms can function as 'bio-reactors' converting plant-derived nutrients into forms more readily usable by humans.

Sericulture opens the possibility of nature-positive 'domestic nutritional resources'

Nature-positive means not only reducing environmental burdens but also halting biodiversity loss and restoring nature to a recovery trajectory. The concept of addressing this through food is known as nature-positive food. The food industry based on sericulture holds crucial insights for protecting and utilizing natural capital, making it a prime example of nature-positive food.

First, silkworms are domesticated insects that have long coexisted with humans and nature, and are highly suitable for mass production in controlled environments. Second, mulberry—the silkworm's food source—has potential to be revitalized as a regional resource across Japan. Third, silkworm-derived ingredients are expected to be low-environmental-impact nutritional sources compared to conventional livestock-based resources, due to low CO2 emissions and low water usage.

What Morus envisions is not food tech that unilaterally exploits nature. Instead, it is a circular model where Japan's remaining sericulture knowledge, regional farmland, mulberry cultivation, scientific research, and urban consumers are interconnected—making eating a choice that supports regional industries and natural capital.

This vision aligns with the philosophy of the nonprofit organization Nature Positive Food (https://www.naturepositivefood.org/), which Morus is involved in. The organization advocates for a new model of Japanese food enterprises centered on three pillars: preserving natural capital, supporting primary industries, and advancing food and nutritional culture. Morus aims to be the core implementing company for 'domestic nutritional resources,' transforming traditional industries into future nutritional infrastructure.

From Japan's traditional industry to global healthcare and food systems: Towards planetary health

Currently, Morus is advancing the social implementation of silkworm-derived ingredients through B2B raw material supply, its KAIKO® brand, OEM business, joint research, and nutrition education programs. In ASEAN markets, including Singapore, diverse distribution channels are emerging—targeting health-conscious consumers, beauty and wellness sectors, sports nutrition, clinics, department stores, and gastronomy.

The value creation Morus aims for in the future consists of three pillars:

- Human healthcare: Creating new daily nutritional habits that support health through diet—addressing blood sugar, gut health, immunity, glycation and oxidation, cholesterol, muscle strength, and beauty.

- Planetary health: Building low-environmental-impact production systems, regional resource cycles centered on mulberry and silkworms, and supply chains that protect and utilize natural capital.

- Regional and cultural revitalization: Redefining Japan's declining sericulture industry into a sector for functional foods, healthcare, and bio-materials, connecting domestic primary industries and research resources to global markets and creating reciprocal value.

Overall, Morus defines planetary health as simultaneously achieving human well-being, planetary health, and the regeneration of society and traditional culture.

Once captivating the world as silk thread, silkworms are now setting out again as materials for nutrition and health. Morus is not returning to the past to preserve Japanese traditions, but rather evolving them through science—applying the wisdom of 'learning from the past to innovate the future'—to build the foundation for future food and healthcare.