Traditionally mulberry leaf is used for treating the lungs, liver function and eyesight. Mulberry leaf is rich in amino acids, vitamin C and antioxidants. The latest Chinese research has shown mulberry leaf is effective in regulating blood fat, balancing blood pressure, reducing blood glucose, and boosting metabolism. Mulberry leaf is also considered a wonderful herb for anti-inflammation, anti-aging and maintaining health. Suggested dose 1- 2 teaspoonfuls made into tea or 0.5 - 1 teaspoon taken as a powder.
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Basic Instruction
Mulberry leaves or Folium Mori,the potential application and incarnation of mulberry leaves.
seminal trace...Mulberry Leaf Extract.10:1.Morus alba L.,Folium Mori.CAS.NO:94167-05-2,90064-11-2.Synonyms:Mulberry Extract.Extract of mulberry,Morus nigra, ext....
Mulberry leaf (Sangye)
Pharmaceutical Name: Folium Mori
Botanical Name : Morus alba L.
Scientific name : Morus alba Linn. Moraceae
Common Name: Morus leaf, Mulberry leaf,Mulberry leaves.white mulberry leaf.
Family:Moraceae
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The leaves are gathered in autumn, during the period of Frost's Descent (eighteenth solar term), then dried in the sun.
Properties & Taste: Sweet, bitter and cold;Sweet and bitter in flavour, cold in property, acting on the lung and liver channels.Light in quality for lifting, floating and mainly dispersing, and sweet and cold for clearing heat and moistening, it can disperse pathogenic wind-heat from the lung channel, moistening, arresting cough, purging the liver-fire, nourishing Yin and improving eyesight It is often used to treat wind-heat affected by exopathogens, liver-fire and conjunctival congestion.
What is mulberry leaf? What is it used for?
This herb consists of the leaves of Morus alba L. (family Moraceae),yielded in most parts of China, collected during the frost season, dried in sunlight, and used unprepared or stir- baked.
Mulberry leaf comes from the mulberry tree, which is found throughout China and cultivated across most parts of the world. All told, there are 10 different species of mulberry tree, the most common of which is morus nigra, or black mulberry. The leaves of a mulberry tree are green and spade shaped. They are harvested in autumn and dried before being used in herbal remedies.
Mulberry leaf has sweet, bitter and cold properties in traditional Chinese medicine. It is associated with the Liver and Lung meridians, and functions to clear lung heat (which can manifest as a fever, headache, sore throat or cough) and clear fire in the liver (which is manifested as red, painful and watery eyes). It is also used to stop bleeding, especially in patients who are vomiting blood. In addition, in vitro studies have shown that decoctions made from fresh mulberry leaf can inhibit the progress of several bacteria, including S. aureus and hemolytic streptococcus. New research shows that mulberry leaf extracts can also play a role in the management and treatment of diabetes.
Origin:Mulberry Leaf
As the leaves of Morus alba L., a deciduous tree, of the Moraceae family. It belongs to one of 10 species in the genus Morus, known as the common mulberries, with more or less juicy fruits, native to temperate Asia and North America.
A true mulberry has toothed leaves and blackberry-like fruits; each fruit develops from an entire flower cluster.
The white mulberry (Morus alba), native to Asia but long cultivated in southern Europe, is so called because of the white fruits it bears. Its leaves are used as food for silkworms. It is naturalized in eastern North America. Several useful varieties of the white mulberry are the cold-resistant Russian mulberry (Morus alba tatarica), introduced into western North America for shelterbelts and local timber use; and fruitless sorts such as Stribling or maple leaf.
The weeping mulberry, Morus alba 'Pendula,' is frequently used as a lawn tree.
The black mulberry (Morus nigra), the most common species, is a native of western Asia that spread westward in cultivation at an early period. Up to the 15th century it was extensively grown in Italy for raising silkworms, but it has since been superseded by Morus alba. Now an introduced species in North America, it is mainly cultivated for its large, juicy, purple-black fruits, which are superior in flavour to those of Morus rubra.
The red mulberry (Morus rubra) of eastern North America is the largest of the genus, often reaching a height of 70 ft. It has two-lobed, three-lobed, or unlobed leaves and dark-purple, edible fruits.
Morus alba is distributed in China in the provinces in the south and the north. As an herb, it is picked and reaped after Frost's Descent (18th solar term), dried in the sun and used when raw or after preparation.
Phytochemicals and constituents:
Mulberry leaf contains crude protein about 25%~45%,carbohydrate 20%~25%,crude fat 5%,rich in calcium,potassium,Vitamin C,Vitamin B1,Vitamin B2,Vitamin A,etc.Cu,Zinc,boron,magnesium,etc.Mulberry leaves contains beta-ecdysone, lupeol,rutin,moracetin,quercetin-3-triglucoside.
Phytochemicals in Twig of Morus alba L.:Mulberry twig.
Main Constituents: Morin,C15H10O7.Morin shows strong antimicrobial,anticancer properties.Acute toxicity of Morin:LD50.Rabbit.Hypodermic injection.8~10grams/kg.
Other Phytochemicals of Mulberry Twig: dihydromorin;dihydrokaempferol;maclcurin;2,4,4',6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone;mulberrin;mulberrochromene;cyclomulberrin;cyclomulberrochromene;betulinic acid;scopoletin;moracin A~H;l-deoxynojirimycin;N-methyl-l-deoxynojirimycin;fagomine;4-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl fagomine;gamma-aminobutyric acid;aspartic acid,etc.
Phytochemicals in Root Bark of Morus alba L.:Sang Bai Pi.
Main Constituents: Mulberrofuran A,C25H28O4;Morin,C15H10O7.
Other Phytochemicals of Sang Bai Pi: mulberrin,0.15%;mulberrochromene,0.2%;cyclomulberrin,0.02%;cyclomulberro-chromene,0.016%;morusin;maclurin;sanggenon A~D;scopoletin;umbelliferone;betulinic acid;morusinol;mulberrofuran A~G;amoran A;2,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxystibene,etc.
Functions of Mulberry leaves:
1. To expel wind and clear heat;
2. To clear heat in the liver and benefit the eyes
3. It can lower the content of glucan in the blood and weight loss
4. It can also scavenge free radical and improve the blood cycle.Rich in antioxidants and bioflavonoids such as glutathione, lutein,quercetin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid.
5. Mulberry Tea provides alternative treatment for balancing blood sugar.
Effects: Expelling pathogenic wind-heat, cleaning away heat from the lung to arrest cough, and clearing up heat from the liver to improve acuity of vision.
Medicinal virtues: Properties
Bitter and sweet in flavor, cold in nature, it is related to the lung and liver channels. The ripe berries open the body, but the unripe bind it, especially when they are dried. They then stay fluxes, laxes and women's courses. The bark of the root kills broad worms in the belly. The juice from the berries made into a syrup helps inflammations or sores in the mouth or throat. The decoction made of the bark and leaves is good to wash the teeth with when they ache. The leaves bound into place stay bleeding at the mouth or nose, or the bleeding of the piles.
Modern uses:Functions
Dispels pathogenic wind-heat, clears away lung-heat, moisturizes the lungs, calms the liver and improves clarity of vision.The bark is laxative and removes intestinal worms. The fruits are also laxative. They are administered as a convalescent syrup to help patients overcome the effects of fever. They are rich in grape sugar, which provides easily assimilated energy. The syrup is made by adding just under twice as much sugar to the expressed juice of the berries. The dose is half to one teaspoonful.
Classical Note
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing :"It removes sweat heat and induces perspiration."
Compendium of Materia Medica : "It treats consumptive fever and coughs, improves eyesight and promotes hair growth."
Amplified Materia Medica : "It removes heat from the lungs, relaxes the bowels, removes heat from the blood, eliminates dampness, dispels wind and improves the eyesight."
Indications & Combinations:
1. Used for common colds due to pathogenic wind-heat, headache and coughing: Being so sweet, cold and light as to be refreshing, dispelling and dispersing, this herb is good at dispersing pathogenic wind-heat and clearing away the lung-heat to relieve coughing, so it is often used with chrysanthemum, weeping forthia fruit (Fructus Forsythiae), apricot kernels, etc., e.g., Sang Ju Yin, for the treatment of such ailments as common colds due to pathogenic wind-heat, initial attacks of febrile diseases, invasion of warm pathogens into the lungs, fever, headache and coughs.
2. Used for coughs due to lung heat-dryness: Being so bitter and cold as to clear away the lung-heat, so sweet and cold as to replenish yin and so cool as to moisturize the lungs, this herb can be used for dry coughs with little expectoration due to the impairment of the lungs by pathogenic dryness-heat: it can be used together with apricot kernels, straight ladybell root (Radix Adenophorae Strictae), fritillary bulb (Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii), etc., e.g., Sang Xing Tang, for mild cases; used in combination with gypsum, ophiopogon root (Radix Ophiopogonis) and donkey-hide gelatin, e.g., Qing Zao Jiu Fei Tang, for serious cases.
3. Used for dizziness due to hyper-activity of liver-yang and conjunctivitis with blurring of vision: As this herb is bitter and cold and it enters the liver channel, it can suppress the hyperactivity of liver-yang, so it can often be used in combination with chrysanthemum, abalone shell, herbaceous peony root (Radix Paeoniae), etc., for the treatment of headache and dizziness due to liver-yang hyperactivity. This herb can not only disperse pathogenic wind-heat, but also clear away liver-fire, replenish yin, remove heat from the blood and improve eyesight, so it is used in combination with herbs that remove heat from the liver and improve eyesight such as chrysanthemum, Asian plantain seed (Semen Plantaginis), etc., for the treatment of such excess syndromes as conjunctivitis, eye pain with uneasiness, etc., which is caused by pathogenic heat in the liver channel or upward attacks of liver-fire. It can also be used in combination with black sesame seed which nourishes blood and invigorates essence, i.e., Sang Ma Wan, for the treatment of such deficiency syndromes as deficiency of the liver and kidneys and blurred vision.
In addition, this herb can also be used for such bleeding ailments as hematemesis (vomiting of blood), epistaxis (nosebleed), etc., due to blood-heat because it can remove heat from the blood and arrest bleeding with its sweet taste and cold nature.
4. Wind-heat exterior syndrome manifested as fever, headache, sore throat and cough: Mulberry leaf (Sangye) is used with Chrysanthemum flower (Juhua), Platycodon root (Jiegeng), Mentha (Bohe) and Forsythia fruit (Lianqiao) in the formula Sang Ju Yin.
5. Lung attacked by dryness and heat manifested as cough with sputum and dry nose and mouth: Mulberry leaf (Sangye) is used with Apricot seed (Xingren), Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) and Ophiopogon root (Maidong) in the formula Sang Xing Tang.
6. Flaring up of fire in the liver manifested as red, painful and watering eyes: Mulberry leaf (Sangye) is used with Chrysanthemum flower (Juhua), Cassia seed (Juemingzi) and Plantain seed (Cheqianzi).
7. Deficient yin of the liver manifested as dizziness and blurred vision: Mulberry leaf (Sangye) is used with Ligustrum (Nuzhenzi), Wolfberry fruit (Gouqizi) and Black sesame seed (Heizhima).
8. Affection by exopathogenic wine: heat or epidemic febrile diseases at the early stage with manifestations of fever, dizziness, headache, cough, and swollen and sore throat. It is often used with chrysan- themum flower, for- sythia fruit and platycodon root, as in Decoction of mul- berry leaf and Chry- santhemum (Sang Fu Yin).
9. Impairment of the lung by patho- genic dry-heat mani- fested as cough with thick sputum, dryness in the nose and th- roat, etc: It is often used with bitter apricot kernel, fritillary bulb and ophiopogon root, as in Decoction of mulberry Leaf and Apricot Kernel(Sang Xing Tang) and De- coction for Clearing Away Dryness and Treating Lung Dis- order (Qingzao Jiufei Tang).
10. Conjunctival congestion with dryness, pain and delacrimation due to the excess type of heat or wind- heat in the liver channel: The herb is often used with chrysanthemum flower and cassia seed. For blurred vision due to deficiency of the liver-yin, it can be used with black sesame seed to prepare honeyed boluses for long-term adminis- tration, as in Bolus of Mulberry Leaf and Sesame Seed (Sang Ma Wan).
11. Cure fever and heat:: The herb is often used in combination with chrysanthemum flower, such as Sang Ju Decoction, to treat wind-heat type of exterior syndromes, fever, headache and sore throat; and with ophiopogon root and apricot kernel for clearing heat from the lung, moistening and arresting cough, such as Sang Xing Decoction, to treat impairment of the lung by dry heat, dry cough with less sputum, sore throat and red tongue.
12.Protect liver and eye: It is often used in combination with chrysanthemum flower, cassia seed and prunella spike for clearing heat from the liver, purging fire to improve eyesight, to treat flaring-up of the liver-fire, conjunctival congestion and swelling pain; and with chrysanthemum flower, uncaria stem with hooks and other herbs for calming the liver and suppressing Yang hyperactivity of the liver, to treat exuberant liver-yang, dizziness and headache.
13. Antioxidant: Rutin,Quercetin and other bio flavones from mulberry leaf show strong antioxidant ability,and could used to lower cholesterol levels,prevent aging and good choice for beauty products.
14. Treat Diabetes: mulberry leaves rich in alkaloid component, one important content 1-Deoxynojimycin,briefed as DNJ,this is a useful things for Diabetes treatment,DNJ act as inhibitor of invertase,smylase,maltase,GAA, and ¦Á-amylase,prevent these enzyme to decompose starch and sugar,and then prevent the sugar absorption and control the blood sugar level, result in controlling Diabetes.
15. Lowering blood sugar: mulberry leaf release good inhibition on blood sugar levels,and its mechanisms depends on the rich source of amino acid,fibre,vitamins and minerals,alkaloids and polysaccharides,its main content adenine shows inhibition on activity of alpha-glucoside,and since then depress and delay the decomposition of starch and food into glucose,sugar and blood sugar levels.
17. Lowering blood pressure: the main constituents of mulberry for lowering blood pressure is GABA.
18. Lowering blood cholesterol: the main constituents of mulberry for lowering blood cholesterol is phytosterol.
19. Anti-aging: the main effective constituents for antiaging is bioflavonoids,4 years clinical experiment of Zhejiang University proved mulberry leaves shows similar antiaging and tonic effects as ginseng root,but ginseng property hot and mulberry leaves functions smooth and calm.
21. Constipation relief: sugar and glucoside in intestine can be turned into CO2,organic acid under effects of mulberry leaf,thus inhibit the growth of germs and relief constipation.
22. Slim: mulberry leaf tea prompt slim and fat metabolism,its mechanism depend on the expelling extra water in cells and intestines,clear away extra fat and cholesterols in blood,thus prompt the metabolism of body fat.
23. Hair beauty: Mulberry leaf make hair black and soft,shining,mulberry leaf contains rich amount of cu which release good property of stopping hair and skin grey.Combine mulberry leaf and black sesame at ratio2:1,powdered and mixed into blend,add some sugar and make into pills,take 20 grams twice daily in morning and evening,make grey hair black and good appearance.
Dosage and formulations:
5-10 g,decocted in water for an oral dose or made into the forms of bolus and powder, depending on the condition being treated. Some practitioners recommend slightly lower doses (5-10 grams), used orally as a powder or decoction.
This healthy tea is abundant in minerals and free of pesticides, caffeine, sugar, colorings and preservatives. Mulberry's natural aroma and bitter-sweet flavor creates a delicious beverage that may nourish the body.
Mulberry has been used as herbal medicine and a rejuvenating tonic from ancient times in Asia. Active ingredients within the leaf are known to promote a healthy liver and kidneys, stimulate appetite, promote proper blood circulation, reduce high blood pressure, reduce the effects of hangover and lower the blood sugar closely related to diabetes.
Mulberry is often employed in combination with other herbs, notably chrysanthemum, apricot seeds, and ligustrum.
Chemical composition of mulberry leaves in spring and autumn:
A,B,C Means with different superscripts within mulberry trains or sampling times differed (P <0.01).
a,b,c Means with different superscripts within mulberry trains or sampling times differed (P <0.05).
Sample
Dry matter (%)
Crude protein (% DM)
True protein (% CP)
NDF (% DM)
Spring leaves
Date
28 April 98
25.1
21.1ab
87.5
34.6Bc
14 May 98
25.2
21.9a
90.4
38.9Aa
29 May 98
26.6
20.0b
86.3
42.9Aa
Clone
Tuantou Heyebai
24.4
21.6
86.7
39.5
Husang No. 9
24.1
20.9
89.6
37.5
Tongxiangqing
23.7
20.9
88.3
39.7
Nongsang No. 8
23.6
20.8
88.5
38.5
SE
0.10
0.17
1.16
0.59
Autumn leaves
Date
28 August 98
25.9C
22.3A
86.9
36.7Bc
30 September 98
29.9B
21.4A
85.7
40.4Bb
30 October 98
33.8
18.9B
84.7
47.2Aa
Clone
Tuantou Heyebai
30.4
21.9
84.4
38.9b
Husang No. 9
29.7
20.3
86.4
40.8ab
Tongxiangqing
29.6
19.6
87.5
42.6a
Nongsang No. 8
29.8
21.7
84.9
43.4a
SE
0.42
0.23
0.57
0.46
Scientific References:
1.Mulberry leaves or Folium Mori,the potential application and incarnation of mulberry leaves.
Claims & Warning:
Claims: Information this web site presented is meant for Nutritional Benefit and as an educational starting point only, for use in maintenance and promotion good health in cooperation with a common knowledge base reference...Furthermore,it based solely on the traditional and historic use or legend of a given herb from the garden of Adonis. Although every effort has been made to ensure its accurate, please note that some info may be outdated by more recent scientific developments......
Pharmakon Warning: The order of knowledge is not the transparent order of forms and ideas,as one might be tempted retrospectively to interpret it; it is the antidote....(Dissemination,Plato's Pharmacy,II.The Ingredients:Phantasms,Festivals,and Paints;138cf. Jacques Derrida.).
And as it happens,the technique of imitation,along with the production of the simulacrum,has always been in Plato's eyes manifestly magical,thaumaturgical:......and the same things appear bent and straight to those who view them in water and out,or concave and convex,owing to similar errors of vision about colors, and there is obviously every confusion of this sort in our souls.And so scene painting (skiagraphia) in its exploitation of this weakness of four nature falls nothing short of witchcraft (thaumatopoia), and so do jugglery and many other such contrivances.(Republic X,602c-d;cf.also 607c).