☯ TCM Properties
Disperses Wind-Heat; Clears Heat and Moistens the Lungs; Clears Liver Heat and Brightens the Eyes; Calms the Liver and Subdues Yang; Cools the Blood and Stops Bleeding
Traditional Chinese Uses
Sang Ye (mulberry leaf) is a cool, bitter-sweet herb renowned for its ability to dispel Wind-Heat from the exterior and clear Heat from the Lungs. It addresses the early stages of Wind-Heat invasion with fever, headache, and sore throat, and its moistening quality helps with dry Lung coughs. A secondary action on the Liver makes it helpful for red, irritated eyes with swelling or excessive tearing. Light and gentle, it is a common household remedy throughout China.
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
The Cherokee used Morus alba bark medicinally in several preparations. An infusion of the bark was taken for worms as an anthelmintic, and an infusion of the bark was also taken to "check dysentery" as an antidiarrheal (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History, p. 45). The bark infusion was used as a purgative and was also taken as a laxative (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975, p. 45). The fruit was used for food (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975, p. 45).
Used In Formulas (1)
Botanical Description
Morus alba L. (Moraceae) is a fast-growing, deciduous tree native to northern China and now widely naturalized and cultivated, typically reaching 10 to 20 meters tall with a short trunk and a broadly spreading, rounded crown. The bark is pale gray-brown, becoming furrowed with age. The leaves are alternate, simple, broadly ovate to nearly orbicular, 5 to 15 cm long, with a cordate or rounded base, an acute to acuminate tip, and coarsely toothed or shallowly to deeply lobed margins; juvenile and coppice shoots often bear strongly lobed leaves while mature shade leaves are entire. The upper surface is glossy bright green, slightly rough, and the lower surface is paler with hair tufts in the vein axils. The species is monoecious or dioecious, with small greenish flowers in pendulous catkins; the fruit is a cylindrical multiple of small drupelets 1 to 2.5 cm long, ripening white, pink or dark purple. The mature leaves, picked after the first frost, are Sang Ye.
Active Constituents
1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ)
Polyhydroxylated piperidine alkaloid (iminosugar / azasugar)Concentration: ~0.1% of dry leaf (roughly 0.1–0.24%, higher in young spring leaves)
The signature bioactive of mulberry leaf. A glucose mimic that competitively inhibits intestinal alpha-glucosidase and sucrase, blunting post-meal blood glucose rises. It underlies most of the leaf's documented hypoglycemic and anti-obesity activity.
Rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: One of the most abundant flavonoids, typically 0.1–1% depending on cultivar and season
Antioxidant and vascular-protective flavonoid that contributes to the leaf's anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects and helps scavenge reactive oxygen species.
Isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-glucoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Minor to moderate constituent
Contributes antioxidant and aldose-reductase-inhibiting activity relevant to diabetic complications; part of the flavonol complex responsible for free-radical scavenging.
Astragalin (kaempferol-3-O-glucoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Minor constituent
Anti-inflammatory kaempferol glycoside that supports the leaf's traditional Lung-heat-clearing and anti-oxidant actions.
Chlorogenic acid
Hydroxycinnamic (phenolic) acidConcentration: Major phenolic acid of the leaf
Major antioxidant phenolic; shown in animal models to contribute (alongside rutin) to the in vivo anti-diabetic activity of the leaf extract by improving glucose handling and reducing oxidative stress.
Morusin
Prenylated flavonoidConcentration: Minor constituent (also concentrated in root bark)
Prenylated flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer activity in laboratory studies; part of the kuwanon/morusin family characteristic of Morus.
Oxyresveratrol / Mulberroside A
Stilbenoid (and its glucoside)Concentration: Minor constituent
Stilbene antioxidants with tyrosinase-inhibiting and neuroprotective activity; contribute to the leaf's antioxidant capacity.
gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Non-protein amino acidConcentration: Present in appreciable amounts, enriched by anaerobic processing
Contributes to mild blood-pressure-lowering effects attributed to mulberry leaf tea and supports its calming, Liver-yang-subduing traditional use.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Insulin and oral hypoglycemics (sulfonylureas, metformin, meglitinides)
Mulberry leaf, chiefly via 1-deoxynojirimycin, lowers post-prandial glucose through alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Combined with glucose-lowering drugs the effects are additive.
Clinical note: Monitor blood glucose closely when combined; antidiabetic drug doses may need downward adjustment to avoid hypoglycemia.
Acarbose / miglitol (alpha-glucosidase inhibitors)
Mulberry leaf shares the same alpha-glucosidase inhibitory mechanism as acarbose (standardized leaf extract inhibits the enzyme several-fold more potently in vitro). Co-administration produces overlapping pharmacology.
Clinical note: Concurrent use is generally discouraged; combined use intensifies flatulence, bloating and diarrhea and increases hypoglycemia risk.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3-9g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Water decoction (Tang)
Parts: Dried leaf
Typically 5–10 g of dried leaf decocted in water; frost-exposed late-autumn leaves (Dong Sang Ye) are preferred in traditional practice for clearing Wind-Heat and brightening the eyes. Added toward the end of cooking as a light, aromatic herb.
Honey-fried (Mi Zhi Sang Ye)
Parts: Dried leaf
Leaf stir-fried with honey to enhance its Lung-moistening, cough-relieving action for dry cough from Lung dryness.
Infusion / tea
Parts: Dried leaf
Dried leaf steeped as a tea, a common form used for its mild hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects and for dispersing Wind-Heat.
Clinical Studies
Effect of mulberry leaf extract with enriched 1-deoxynojirimycin content on postprandial glycemic control in subjects with impaired glucose metabolism
Single ingestion of mulberry leaf extract (3–9 mg DNJ) dose-dependently suppressed post-prandial glucose and insulin excursions after a carbohydrate load in subjects with impaired fasting glucose; a 12-week supplementation arm (6 mg DNJ t.i.d.) was also assessed for longer-term glycemic control.
Mulberry Leaf Extract Improves Postprandial Glucose Response in Prediabetic Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial
Aqueous mulberry leaf extract (5 g/day) attenuated the post-prandial glycemic response in prediabetic subjects, with the effect most pronounced 30 and 60 minutes after a carbohydrate load, supporting alpha-glucosidase inhibition as the mechanism.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica)
Eastern Han dynasty (compiled c. 200 CE)Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Batiha GE, Al-Snafi AE, Thuwaini MM, et al.. Morus alba: a comprehensive phytochemical and pharmacological review . Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology (2023) [DOI]
- Chan EW, Lye PY, Wong SK. Phytochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical trials of Morus alba . Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (2016) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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