Antioxidant, antifungal and antiviral activities of chitosan from the larvae of housefly, Musca domestica L

► We examine antioxidant, antifungal and antiviral effects of chitosan from housefly. ► It possesses excellent free radical scavenging activity and antifungal activity. ► It has the potential as natural antioxidant for food products or antifungal agents. ► And the chitosan exhibit effective virucidal activity against AcMNPV and BmNPV. ► It can replace pesticide to prevent viral infection, avoiding environmental pollution. Antioxidant activity of the chitosan from the larvae of Musca domestica L. was evaluated in two different reactive oxygen species assays, and inhibitory effects against seven fungi were also tested. The results showed that the chitosan had scavenging activity for hydroxyl and superoxide radicals which were similar to that of ascorbic acid. Also the chitosan exhibited excellent antifungal activity, especially in the low concentration, it could significantly inhibit the growth of Rhizopus stolonifer. Besides, antiviral results demonstrated that the chitosan could effectively inhibit the infection of AcMNPV and BmNPV. These results suggested that the chitosan from the larvae of housefly could be effectively used as a natural antioxidant to protect the human body from free radicals and retard the progress of many chronic diseases. Furthermore, the chitosan with antiviral and antifungal activity might provide useful information for antiviral breeding technology of economic insect and development of plant pathological control.