Not only in the laboratory but also in practice has it been demonstrated that Eisenia fetida, the species most intensively studied in this respect, grows and reproduces well in many kinds of waste, converting them into live protein-rich feed and dark odorless casts with good physical structure for organic fertilizer. It has been a well-known fact that earthworms can be used in the stabilization of organic wastes. However, only within last 30 years has earthworm culture spread throughout the world as an excellent protein source replacing fish meal and soybean meal on a commercial scale since the potential for use of some earthworms in accelerating waste decomposition and protein production on a large scale was reported. It is a time-honored, traditional custom to use live earthworm as angling bait, fish feed and duck feed. In short, based on its nutrient content and functional components, earthworms could be an excellent raw material source as homology of medicine and food for human use, especially as functional food in the future. An antibacterial peptide and a functional earthworm powder were introduced in this paper. By the fast development of molecular biological techniques, more Verm pharmaceuticals and functional components were isolated from earthworms. The hydrolyzed body fluids contain 9.34% protein and 78.73 mg of free amino acids per liter of raw fluid and are rich in vitamins and minerals. Earthworm protein is easily hydrolyzed into free amino acids. The crude fat content of earthworm meal was 7.34%. Their protein content and amino acid composition are better than those of fish meal, cow milk and soybean meal. Earthworms are rich in protein and various amino acids the protein content of earthworm meal was 54.6–59.4% on dry weight. Because of medicine food homology in China, people have been using earthworms as a food for several centuries. Earthworms have been a traditional medicine in China for at least 2300 years.

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