Mulberry leaves are thin, glossy, and light green in color. The shape of the mulberry leaf can be quite variable even on the same tree. Some leaves have 5 lobes while others have one lobe, two lobes, three lobes, or no lobes at all. Mulberries are one of my favorite fruits. Sometimes I eat dried mulberries as a snack.
Mulberry Benefit
In vitro studies suggest that extracts of black, green, and mulberry tea leavess could interfere with carbohydrate and triacylglycerol absorption via their ability to inhibit {alpha}-amylase, {alpha}-glucosidase, sodium-glucose transporters, and pancreatic lipase. Mulberry tea or mulberry extract may be a healthy addition to one's diet.
Mulberry Research Update
An extract of black, green, and mulberry teas causes malabsorption of carbohydrate but not of triacylglycerol in healthy volunteers.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 3, 551-555, September 2006
Litao Zhong, Julie K Furne and Michael D Levitt. From NatureGen Inc, San Diego, CA, and VAMC (Research Service/151), Minneapolis, MN
We measured breath hydrogen and 13CO2 to investigate the ability of an extract of black, green, and mulberry tea leaves to induce malabsorption of carbohydrate and triacylglycerol in healthy volunteers. Design: In a crossover design, healthy adult volunteers randomly ingested test meals with a placebo beverage or a preparation containing an extract of black (0.1 g), green (0.1 g), and mulberry (1.0 g) teas. One test meal contained 50 g carbohydrate as white rice, 10 g butter, and 0.2 g [13C]triolein, and the beverages contained 10 g sucrose. The calorie content of the second test meal consisted entirely of lipid (30 g olive oil and 0.2 g [13C]triolein). Results: With the carbohydrate-containing meal, the mulberry tea extract resulted in a highly significant increase in breath-hydrogen concentrations, which indicated appreciable carbohydrate malabsorption. A comparison of hydrogen excretion after the carbohydrate-containing meal with that after the nonabsorbable disaccharide lactulose suggested that the mulberry tea extract induced malabsorption of 25% of the carbohydrate. The tea extract did not cause triacylglycerol malabsorption or any significant increase in symptoms.
Effects of dietary mulberry, Korean red ginseng, and banaba on glucose homeostasis in relation to PPAR-alpha, PPAR-gamma, and LPL mRNA expressions.
Life Sci. 2005 Nov 12;77(26):3344-54. Epub 2005 Jun 23.
Despite lack of scientific evidences to support its therapeutic efficacy, the use of herbal supplements has significantly increased. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of traditional anti-diabetic herbs on the progress of diabetes in db/db mice, a typical non-insulin-dependent model. Five different experimental diets were as follows: control diet, 0.5% mulberry leaf water extract diet, 0.5% Korean red ginseng diet, 0.5% banaba leaf water extract diet, and 0.5% combination diet (mulberry leaf water extract/Korean red ginseng/banaba leaf water extract, 1:1:1). Blood levels of glucose, insulin, HbA1c, and triglyceride were measured every 2 weeks. At 12 weeks of age, animals were sacrificed, and tissue mRNA levels of PPAR-alpha, PPAR-gamma, and LPL were determined. Results indicated that mulberry leaf water extract, Korean red ginseng, banaba leaf water extract, and the combination of above herbs effectively reduced blood glucose, insulin, TG, and percent HbA1c in study animals (p<0.05). We also observed that the increased expressions of liver PPAR-alpha mRNA and adipose tissue PPAR-gamma mRNA in animals fed diets supplemented with test herbs. The expression of liver LPL mRNA was also increased with experimental diets containing herbs. The efficacy was highest in animals fed the combination diet for all of the markers used. These results suggest that mulberry leaf water extract, Korean red ginseng, banaba leaf water extract, and the combination of these herbs fed at the level of 0.5% of the diet significantly increase insulin sensitivity, and improve hyperglycemia possibly through regulating PPAR-mediated lipid metabolism.
Mulberry anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside, exhibited an inhibitory effect on the migration and invasion of a human lung cancer cell line.
Cancer Lett. 2005 Jun 21.
Anthocyanins, present in various fruits and vegetables as natural colorant, have been well characterized to be involved in various bioactive properties and are wildly used for their antioxidant properties. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed pleiotropic anticancer and antiproliferative capabilities of anthocyanin. Berry extract contains high amounts of anthocyanins and is commonly used in diet or in some therapeutic applications. In this study, we first observed that cyanidin 3-rutinoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside ( extracted from Morus alba L. mulberry ) exerted a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the migration and invasion, of highly metastatic A549 human lung carcinoma cells in absence of cytotoxicity. These result suggested that anthocyanins from mulberry could decrease the in vitro invasiveness of cancer cells and therefore, may be of great value in developing a potential cancer therapy.
Hypoglycemic effect of Egyptian Morus alba root bark extract: effect on diabetes and lipid peroxidation of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Sep 14;100(3):333-8.
The hypoglycemic activity of the flavonoids rich fraction of 70% alcohol extract of the Egyptian Morus alba root bark - mulberry - was evaluated after its oral administration to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by injection of 60 mg kg(-1) i.p. The administration of mulberry to streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats for 10 days in a dose of 200 and 400 mg kg(-1)day(-1) was not significant. However, administration of mulberry for 10 days (600 mg kg(-1)day(-1)) significantly reduced the amount of the glucose from control level (379+/-9 mg/dl) to a lower level (155+/-8 mg/dl) and significantly increased the insulin level from control to a high level. The data obtained from this study revealed that mulberry may protect pancreatic beta cells from degeneration and diminish lipid peroxidation. However, this is the first biological screening of the Egyptian Morus alba root bark; further future merit studies including clinical study will be necessary in order to confirm the results obtained from this study.
Mulberry tree pollen allergy
Mulberry trees were planted in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the 1960s and now every spring an explosion of pollen from paper mulberry trees produce levels of pollen that experts say are among the highest in the world. Islamabad was purpose-built in the 1960s, a small city with wide boulevards and plenty of greenery, on the edge of the Punjab plain, up against the foothills of the Himalayas. Designers planted paper mulberry on a massive scale. The trees were seen as ideal: they grow fast, provide good shade and bind the soil well. And they flourished. The trees showed no mercy on native species. They have conquered most green areas, crowding out local flora and blanketing banks of the numerous streams that flow out of the hills and through the city. By the early 1990s, people were wondering what was causing the epidemic of allergies that brought untold misery and filled hospitals every spring. Studies soon determined the main culprit was the male paper mulberry. At the end of February the pollen from the male trees begins drifting through the air. In March it erupts, producing counts of up to 40,000 pollen grains per cubic meter of air. In the West, a pollen count of 1,500 is considered dangerous. City officials are gradually cutting down many mulberry trees in order to reduce pollen count and subsequent allergies in the city dwellers.
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