The mulberry tree, a native of China, is a large tree that can reach 50 feet in height, with a short trunk and a broad, impressive spread. Mulberry fruit is delicate and not often found in markets. The leaves are dark green and oval-shaped. Mulberry leaves have been used in the treatment of diabetes and related conditions.
Mulberry Leaf Extract
A compound in mulberry leaves, known as deoxynojirimycin, prevents diabetes by inhibiting the breakdown of carbohydrates and suppressing blood sugar levels, according to researchers at the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences in Ibaraki, Japan. Researchers found the mulberry extract to be heat stable and potentially useful for developing mulberry-based food products that could be used in the management and prevention of diabetes. Furthermore, mulberry products could be sterilized with heat, making them safe for consumption with fewer preservatives. The study appeared in the April 2010 issue of the "Journal of Food Science."
Hybrid Molecules
Researchers at the Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute at Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science in Hangzhou, China, combined 1-deoxynojirimycin from mulberry leaves with polysaccharides to form hybrid molecules that showed good blood sugar-lowering effects in lab animals. Daily supplementation with 68 mg per pound of body weight of the mulberry hybrid molecules resulted in significant decline in blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin -- a measure of blood sugar levels over the four months preceding the test -- triglycerides and liver enzymes. Body weight, insulin levels and levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the good form of cholesterol, increased. The experimental molecule also protected pancreatic cells from the damaging effects of high blood sugar levels. The study was published in the April 2011 issue of the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology."
Blood Sugar and Cholesterol
Mulberry leaf extract might reduce blood sugar and cholesterol, according to a study published in the February 2010 issue of the "Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology." In the lab animal study, doses of mulberry extract were administered for 21 days, leading to decreased fasting blood sugar, reduced glycosylated hemoglobi, and elevated levels of insulin and C-peptide -- a molecule that assists in the assembly of insulin. Blood lipids were also restored to normal levels with mulberry supplementation. Mulberry also provides antioxidants that can help manage some of the oxidative effects of diabetes.
Multiple Effects
A variety of compounds present in mulberry might offer benefits for managing diabetes, say researchers at the Food and Biodynamic Chemistry Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. Several compounds extracted by the scientists show similar structure and properties to 1-deoxynojirimycin, the mulberry compound that has received the most research attention. With further study, these compounds might be found useful for incorporation into nutraceutical formulas. The study appeared in the September 2010 issue of the journal "Analytical Biochemistry."
References
- "Food Science"; "Simple, Selective and Rapid Quantification of 1-deoxynojirimycin in Mulberry Leaf Products by High-performance Anion-exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection"; T. Yoshihashi et al; April 2010
- "Ethnopharmacology"; "Hybrid of 1-deoxynojirimycin and Polysaccharide from Mulberry Leaves Treat Diabetes Mellitus by Activating Pdx-1/Insulin-1 Signaling Pathway and Regulating the Expression of Glucokinase, Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase and Glucose-6-phosphatase in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Mice"; Y. Li et al; April 2011
- "Journal of Pharmaceutical Pharmacology"; "Antidiabetogenic Action of Morus Rubra L. Leaf Extract in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats"; S. Sharma et al; February 2010
- "Anals of Biochemistry"; "Determination of Iminosugars in Mulberry Leaves and Silkworms Using Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry"; K. Nakagawa et al; September 2010
- "Edible: an Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants"; "National Geographic"; 2008
