T. Ji et al., STUDIES ON THE CHROMOGEN OF THE TUSSAH COCOON LAYER AND ITS CHROMOPHORIC MECHANISM, Science in China. Series B, Chemistry, life sciences & earth sciences, 36(9), 1993, pp. 1046-1051
The tawny cocoon of tussah has been studied by means of UV, FS and ESR
. It has been shown that the tawny chromogen is a cross-linked polymer
of gentisic acid and silk proteins. The formation mechanism of this p
olymer is also suggested here.