Selected soluble sugars and organic acids were analyzed in strawberry, sweet cherry, and mulberry fruits at different ripening stages by HPLC. The amounts of fructose, glucose and sucrose were found to be: strawberry (1.79-2.86, 1.79-2.25 and 0.01-0.25 g/100 g FW), sweet cherry (0.76-2.35, 0.22-3.39 and 0.03-0.13 g/100 g) and mulberry (3.07-9.41, 1.53-4.95 and 0.01-0.25 g/100 g) at un-ripened to fully-ripened stages, respectively. The strawberry, sweet cherry and mulberry mainly contained tartaric, citric and ascorbic acids in the range of 16-55, 70-1934 and 11-132 mg/100 g; 2-8, 2-10 and 10-17 mg/100 g; 2-118, 139-987 and 2-305 mg/100 g at un-ripened to fully-ripened stages, respectively. Fructose and glucose were established to be the major sugars in all the tested fruit while citric and ascorbic acid were the predominant organic acids in strawberry and mulberry while tartaric acid was mainly present in sweet cherry. The tested fruits mostly showed an increase in the concentration of sugars and organic acids with ripening.
Two experiments were simultaneously conducted with Morus alba (white mulberry) foliage extract (MFE) as a growth promoter and treatment of Aeromonas hydrophila infection in separate 60 and 30 days trail (Experiments 1 and 2, resp.) in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). In Experiment 1, four diets, control and control supplemented with 2, 5, or 7 g MFE/kg dry matter (DM) of diet, were used. In Experiment 2, fish were intraperitoneally infected with Aeromonas hydrophila and fed the same diets as experiment 1 plus additional two diets with or without antibiotic. Results of experiment 1 showed that growth was unaffected by dietary levels of MFE. Treatments with the inclusion of MFE at the levels of 5 and 7 g/Kg DM had no mortality. Red blood cells (RBC), albumin, and total protein were all higher for the treatments fed MFE (5 and 7 g/Kg DM). Results of experiment 2 showed RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, globulin, albumin, and total protein improved with the increase in MFE in the infected fish. The dietary MFE at the level of 7 g/kg DM reduced mortality rate. In conclusion, MFE at the level of 7 g/kg DM could be a valuable dietary supplement to cure the infected fish.
The use of a high quercetin dose to demonstrate its absorption and bioavailability does not reflect the real dietary situation because quercetin glycosides are usually present in small amounts in the human diet. This study aimed to demonstrate the absorption and bioavailability of quercetin in mulberry leaves that represents a more physiologic dietary situation. Mulberry leaf ethanol extract was prepared similar to tea infusion, which is the way the tea leaves are generally prepared for consumption. Accordingly, rats were fed by oral intubation the mulberry leaf ethanol extract (15 g%/rat per day) or pure rutin (135 microg/rat per day) for 2 weeks. The control group received a similar volume of the vehicle, 10% ethanol. There was a significant increase in total antioxidant activity (TAA) in the urine and feces of the antioxidants-fed rats. Phenylacetic acid, a microbial metabolite of quercetin, was detected in the urine of the test animals, and quercetin was present in the fecal samples. By using an in situ intestinal preparation, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, another microbial metabolite of quercetin, was detected in the plasma when the duodenal segment was instilled with 2 mg of rutin. This microbial metabolite retained 50% of the TAA of quercetin. The results of this study indicate that in a more realistic dietary situation, an increase in TAA in the body after consumption of quercetin-containing foods is contributed mainly by the microbial metabolites.
The ability of the antioxidants in the mulberry leaves to protect Sprague-Dawley rats from injuries caused by immobilization stress was studied as an indicator of the tissue bioavailability of antioxidants. Nitrite level, lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant activity (TAA) in the plasma and tissues were measured. There were hypertrophy of the adrenal glands and kidneys, significant increased levels of nitrite in the plasma and adrenal glands, elevated thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in the plasma, kidneys and spleen, and a reduction of TAA in the plasma, liver, adrenal glands, kidneys and spleen of the immobilized rats. Antioxidants in the mulberry leaf extract suppressed the increase of nitrite and TBARS. Adrenal glands appeared to be the target organ of the antioxidants in the leaf extract. The low dose mulberry antioxidants were more effective than pure rutin (4 mg/day) to protect the cells against inflammation and peroxidation induced by stress.
Paracetamol (PCM) has an acceptable safety profile when used at prescribed doses. However, it is now understood that paracetamol can damage the kidneys when administered as an overdose. In addition, oxidative stress can play a major role in causing nephrotoxicity. This investigation studies the efficacy of moralbosteroid isolated from M. alba stem bark. Nephrotoxicity was induced with administration of paracetamol. Nephroprotection was studied using two doses of the extract. The experimental animals were divided into four groups (n = 6). Two groups served as positive and negative controls, respectively, and two received the test substances. All of the contents were orally administered. Significant reductions in nephrotoxicity and oxidative damages were observed in the treatment groups. There was a marked decrease in blood levels of urea, creatinine, and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, it was found that glutathione levels in the blood increased dramatically after treatment. Histological findings confirmed the potent renoprotective potential of moralbosteroid. This was evidenced by the minimized intensity of nephritic cellular destruction. In animal studies, moralbosteroid exhibited dose-dependent activity, which is thought to be mediated through its antioxidant potential.
Mulberry (Morus alba L.) root bark (MRB) was extracted using methanol and the extracts were subjected to tests of anti-inflammatory effects. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated the best anti-inflammatory effects. Purified compounds, sanggenon B, albanol B and sanggenon D, showed inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and albanol B demonstrated the best anti-inflammatory effects. Regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms, further investigations showed that treatments with Albanol B reduced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). These results would contribute to development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs from MRB.
Guangsangon E (GSE) is a novel Diels-Alder adduct isolated from leaves of Morus alba L, a traditional Chinese medicine widely applied in respiratory diseases. It is reported that GSE has cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. In our research, we investigated its anticancer effect on respiratory cancer and revealed that GSE induces autophagy and apoptosis in lung and nasopharyngeal cancer cells. We first observed that GSE inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in A549 and CNE1 cells. Meanwhile, the upregulation of autophagosome marker LC3 and increased formation of GFP-LC3 puncta demonstrates the induction of autophagy in GSE-treated cells. Moreover, GSE increases the autophagy flux by enhancing lysosomal activity and the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes. Next, we investigated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is involved in autophagy induction by GSE. GSE activates the ER stress through reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, which can be blocked by ROS scavenger NAC. Finally, inhibition of autophagy attenuates GSE-caused cell death, termed as "autophagy-mediated cell death." Taken together, we revealed the molecular mechanism of GSE against respiratory cancer, which demonstrates great potential of GSE in the treatment of representative cancer.