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White mulberry

What is White Mulberry?

White Mul berry, also known as Morus Alba, is a plant native to Asia that was traditionally cultivated as food for silkworms, but has quickly become a popular health food thanks to scientific research showing its ability to control blood sugar levels and help relieve stress.

Where does White Mulberry come from?

White Mulberry is a plant originally native to northern China that has now spread to many countries including India, Afghanistan, Iran and much of southern Europe. Many parts of the plant including the fruit, bark and leaves are considered therapeutically useful, although the plant is still primarily used as a food source for silkworms and other animals during drier periods.

Benefits of White Mulberry

Traditional Chinese medicine uses White Mulberry for a wide range of ailments. The fruit is used as a support for constipation and diabetes, while the bark is used for coughs, as a diuretic, and for fevers, headaches and irritated eyes. Studies have shown that White Mulberry has strong antibacterial and antioxidant functions, with different parts of the plant having different levels of antioxidant properties. These properties are strongest in the bark, weaker in the fruit than in the bark and weakest in the leaves (1).

Research has also shown that white mulberry is a powerful cognitive enhancer. This effect is due to the ability of White Mulberry to exert an effect on type 4 phosphodiesterase enzymes (2). Blocking these enzymes has been shown to be helpful in depression, Alzheimer's disease (3) and Parkinson's disease (4), as well as promoting alertness (5), long-term memory (6) and neuroprotection (7). Other studied potential benefits of White Mulberry include positive interactions with cancer (8), cardiovascular disease (9), asthma and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis (11), as well as a positive effect on joint health.

Benefits of White Mulberry for bodybuilders

In addition to the benefits described above, White Mulberry or Morus Alba may have multiple benefits for exercise performance and training. Probably the best studied of all the beneficial effects of White Mulberry is its ability to influence blood sugar levels (12). A number of possible mechanisms have been proposed, but compounds such as quercetin, chloric acid and rutin are now believed to influence mechanisms in the body involved in glucose metabolism (13).

White mulberry extracts have also been shown to be able to inhibit the absorption of carbohydrates (14), making white mulberry a potential ingredient for fat loss products. This inhibition of carbohydrate absorption, unlike other carbohydrate blockers, involves sugar and not starch. In addition to this, White Mulberry extracts have been shown to suppress appetite (15) and have hypolipidemic activity, making White Mulberry an even more interesting fat loss aid. In terms of performance, White Mulberry may help reduce fatigue and relieve anxiety due to its adaptogenic (stress-reducing) properties (16).

Disadvantages and side effects

There are not too many studies that have investigated the toxicological effects of White Mulberry, with most studies only finding non-significant side effects. Due to White Mulberry's ability to lower blood sugar levels, caution should be exercised as too much lowering of blood sugar levels can result in hypoglycemia. Although there is a lack of research on this, it is best to avoid White Mulberry during pregnancy and breastfeeding. One of the biggest drawbacks of White Mulberry is the lack of human clinical studies, as most studies have been conducted on animals.

Recommended dosage

The recommended dosages vary depending on the desired effects you want to achieve. Positive effects on inflammation occur at lower dosages in the range of 220 to 3,600 mg. When it comes to reducing carbohydrate absorption, the dosage depends on the 1-deoxynojirimicin content of the product, with dosages ranging from 5,400 mg to 18,000 mg. There are no definitive recommendations regarding the best times to take White Mulberry, although as with most carbohydrate blockers, it is probably best to take White Mulberry before a meal.

White Mulberry supplements

WhiteMulberry is most commonly sold as a mono supplement, but is also found in some "greens" or "superfood" supplements. In view of its increasing popularity and the growing number of scientific studies, it is to be expected that White Mulberry will also be used in pre-workout supplements and fat burners in the near future.

Combinations with other supplements

WhiteMulberry tends to work synergistically with a number of other ingredients, including Roselle or Hibiscus Sabdariffa (17) and Schisandra Chinensis - another adaptogenic plant. White Mulberry can be combined with most other supplements, but may work best with pre-workout supplements and fat burners due to its carbohydrate absorption inhibiting and fatigue reducing abilities.

References

  1. Khan MA, Rahman AA, Islam S, Khandokhar P, Parvin S, Islam MB, Hossain M, Rashid M, Sadik G, Nasrin S, Mollah MN, Alam AH. 'A comparative study on the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from different parts of Morus alba L. (Moraceae).' BMC Res Notes. 2013 Jan 19;6:24. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-24.
  2. Chen SK, et al. Moracin M from Morus alba L. is a natural phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor. Bioorg Med Chem Lett (2012)
  3. Smith, Donna L; Pozueta J, Gong B, Arancio O, Shelanski M (September 14, 2009). "Reversal of long-term dendritic spine alterations in Alzheimer disease models". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 106 (39): 16877-16882
  4. MF, Beal; Cleren C, Calingasan NY, Yang L, Klivenyi P, Lorenzl S (2005). "Oxidative Damage in Parkinson's Disease". U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Fort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012 Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  5. Lelkes Z, Alföldi P, Erdos A, Benedek G. (1998). "Rolipram, an antidepressant that increases the availability of cAMP, transiently enhances wakefulness in rats". Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. 60 (4): 835-9.
  6. Barad M, Bourtchouladze R, Winder DG, Golan H, Kandel E. (1998). "Rolipram, a type IV-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, facilitates the establishment of long-lasting long-term potentiation and improves memory". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 95 (25): 15020-5.
  7. Chen RW, Williams AJ, Liao Z, Yao C, Tortella FC, Dave JR. (2007). "Broad spectrum neuroprotection profile of phosphodiesterase inhibitors as related to modulation of cell-cycle elements and caspase-3 activation". Neuroscience Letters. 418 (2): 165-9
  8. Kikuchi T, et al. Albanol A from the root bark of Morus alba L. induces apoptotic cell death in HL60 human leukemia cell line. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). (2010)
  9. Nomura T, Hano Y, Fukai T. Chemistry and biosynthesis of isoprenylated flavonoids from Japanese mulberry tree. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci. (2009)
  10. O'Byrne PM, Inman MD. Airway hyperresponsiveness. Chest. (2003)
  11. Peng J, et al. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay for high-throughput screening of ADAMTS1 inhibitors. Molecules. (2011)
  12. Kim GN, Kwon YI, Jang HD. Mulberry leaf extract reduces postprandial hyperglycemia with few side effects by inhibiting α-glucosidase in normal rats. J Med Food. (2011)
  13. Hunyadi A, Martins A, Hsieh TJ, Seres A, Zupkó I. 'Chlorogenic acid and rutin play a major role in the in vivo anti-diabetic activity of Morus alba leaf extract on type II diabetic rats.' PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e50619. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050619. Epub 2012 Nov 21.
  14. Oku T, et al. Similarity of hydrolyzing activity of human and rat small intestinal disaccharidases. Clin Exp Gastroenterol. (2011)
  15. Tanabe K, et al. Repeated ingestion of the leaf extract from Morus alba reduces insulin resistance in KK-Ay mice. Nutr Res (2011)
  16. Adaptogenic effect of Morus alba on chronic footshock-induced stress in rats Nade V.S., Kawale L.A., Naik R.A., Yadav A.V. Indian Journal of Pharmacology 2009 41:6
  17. Adisakwattana S, et al. In vitro inhibitory effects of plant-based foods and their combinations on intestinal α-glucosidase and pancreatic α-amylase. BMC Complement Altern Med (2012)