Mulberry has acquired a special importance due to its phytochemical composition and its beneficial effects on human health, including antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic and immunomodulatory effects. Botanical parts of Morus sp. (fruits, leaves, twigs, roots) are considered rich source of nutrients and secondary metabolites. Various mulberry-based foods have been developed and marketed around the world.
There are multiple Morus sp. fruits (about 2 to 3 cm long); they form together and are arranged longitudinally around the central axis, similar to blackberries, and are low in calories, but rich in nutrients and antioxidants, so they can ensure good overall health [4]. The fruits contain a high-water content (over 70%), and the pH values differ between species: M. alba presents the highest value of pH (5.6), while the M. rubra and M. nigra have values of 4.04 and 3.52, respectively [5]. Based on values of pH, total soluble solid and total dry weight, the M. alba could be recommended for processing, while M nigra may be recommended for fresh fruit production [5][6].
The taste is better in the case of black fruits, which is due to the lower pH value compared to white fruits, which are sometimes characterized as tasteless. All these own connections, together with the nutritional and medicinal ones, make the black mulberry fruits increasingly sought after and studied [2][5][3][7][8][9][10][11].Product Foodstuff | Major Findings | Reference |
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Black mulberry food colorants | Three formulations of solid natural colorants based on black mulberry anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-O-rhamnoside), obtained through the spray-drying technique, were developed. These natural additives have a good stability in time and a variation of anthocyanin content and color parameters during the 12 weeks of storage, at room and refrigerated temperatures. | [32] |
Mulberry gummy candies | Gummy candies obtained from 5, 7.5 and 10 g of mulberry molasses/100 g gelatin illustrate the potential for using molasses in a healthier development of confectionery products. These candies contain natural sugars, thus replacing sugar syrup or artificial sweeteners. | Curcuma longa[37] |
Application No. | Species/Part | Sample Type | Results/Mechanism | Ref. | |||
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US 11,090,349 B2 | Morus alba L.; Morus alba var. multicaulis L.; Morus nigra; Morus australis Poir. | Raw material, dry leaves |
Inhibits α-glucosidase. It has the ability to control blood glucose levels and reduce melanin production for the treatment of conditions caused by pigmentation, such as freckles, chloasma, striae gravidarum, sensitive plaque and melanoma. | [51] | |||
AU 2019201188 B2 | M. alba root bark; acacia barks; Uncaria gambir, leaves; L. | Mixture extract | The compound mixture, demonstrated beneficial synergistic effects with improved anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive efficacy, but also the attenuation of joint stiffness. | [52] | |||
Mulberry leaf powder drink | The effect on adults of consuming of biscuits with a beverage of powdered mulberry leaves in the afternoon on postprandial glucose levels at dinner was a significant reduction in postprandial increases in glucose. | ||||||
US 10,588,927 B2 | Mulberry (M. alba) and poria cocos peel | [42] | |||||
Mixed extract | Used either as a food product or as a pharmaceutical composition with the aim of preventing or treating degenerative neurological diseases, having the ability to improve memory and protection on neurons. | [ | 53 | ] | Mulberry leaf tea | The quercetin 3-O-malonylglucoside and kaempferol 3-O-malonylglucoside found in white mulberry leaves can be used as ingredients for a functional food to improve the health benefits, such as controlling blood glucose, preventing aging-related diseases and regulating glycolipid metabolic abnormalities. | [ |
US 2020/0360457 A1 | M. alba and M. nigra | 43][47] | |||||
root | Macerate extract | As an active ingredient, at least one extract from the root of the plant is used, according to the invention. It is rich in moracenine A, moracenin B, kuwanon C, wittiorumin F and mulberrofuran T, also used in cosmetic composition and a pharmaceutical or nutraceutical composition. | [ | 54] | Black mulberry dietary syrup | Administered in different concentrations in the diet of fish, the syrup, increased activities of serum lysozyme, myeloperoxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase, and increased the expression levels of immune-related genes in the spleen and antioxidant-related genes in the liver of fish fed. | [40] |
US 2020/0178585 A1 | Morus sp. fruits | Savory concentrate/seasoning, with vegetable fat. | Used as a cooking aid in the preparation of starch-rich food. | [55] | Rapeseed honey with mulberry leaves and fruits | The addition of dried leaves and freeze-dried fruits (4%, w/v) to rapeseed honey added value to the product by increasing the content of flavonoids and phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity. | [44] |
US 2020/0197429 A1 | Astragalus root; phlorizin; M. alba root bark; olive leaf and bitter melon. | Standardized extracts | Dietary supplement with the aim of controlling postprandial blood sugar. | [40] | Black mulberry-aged wines | The non-thermal processing applied at wine maturation point can be a potential method of improving the maturation process by modifying the chromatic properties of the wine. | [38] |
In the volatile composition of the non-thermal, accelerated, aged wines, many volatile compounds were found that are grouped into nine chemical families: alcohols (32), esters (53), acids (14), volatile phenols (11), aldehydes (16), ketones (15), terpenes (11), lactones (11) and furans (3). | [39] | ||||||
Black mulberry jam | Black mulberries were processed into jam on an industrialized scale. The total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity was significantly decreased but % recovery of bioaccessible the natural compounds increased after jam processing. | [36] | |||||
Dark chocolate with black mulberry | Dark chocolate was fortified with dry black mulberry waste extract, encapsulated in chitosan-coated liposomes. This formula was shown to protect the anthocyanin content and increase the bioavailability of these pigments in vitro. | [46] |