To elucidate the effects of cultivar and harvest month on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of mulberry leaves, four major phenolics, including chlorogenic acid (ChA), benzoic acid (BeA), rutin (Rut) and astragalin (Ast), were quantified using an HPLC-UV method. Leaves from six mulberry cultivars, collected from April to October, were analyzed. The antioxidant activity of mulberry leaves was assessed by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HSA) and superoxide radical scavenging activity (SSA) assays. The results showed that the total values of the four phenolic compounds ranged from 2.3 dry weight (DW) to 4.2 mg/g DW, with ChA being the major compound. The mean total phenol (TP) content of the six cultivars ranged from 30.4 equivalents (GAE) mg/g DW to 44.7 GAE mg/g DW. Mulberry leaves harvested in May had the highest TP content. Moreover, the antioxidant activities of mulberry leaves harvested from April to October differed noticeably. In general, Kq 10 and May were considered to be a better cultivar and harvest month concerning phenolic content and antioxidant activity, respectively.

The protective effect of mulberry (Morus atropurpurea) fruit against diphenoxylate-induced constipation in mice through the modulation of gut microbiota.

The antioxidant activity and stability of peptides from male silkmoth hydrolysates (MSH) was studied as antioxidant ingredients in potential food applications. MSH were isolated into five fractions: MSH‐I (MW > 30 kDa), MSH‐II (10–30 kDa), MSH‐III (5–10 kDa), MSH‐IV (3–5 kDa), and MSH‐V (<3 kDa) by ultrafiltration. The antioxidant activity, molecular weight distribution and amino acid contents of each fraction were evaluated. The effects of NaCl, temperature, pH, light intensity and simulated gastrointestinal digestion were assessed to determine the stability of peptides. The antioxidant capacity of MSH‐I as a major antioxidant component was 1,950 µmol/g in ORAC assay and 275 µmol/g in DPPH scavenging method. MSH showed good stability when salinity was less than 4%, temperature below 60C, and pH between 4 and 8. The antioxidant activity could retain about 80% after simulated gastrointestinal digestion. In conclusion, the MSH is a promising resource for stable antioxidant peptides applied in functional food processing and storage. Practical Applications In sericulture, the total cocoon yield has been 738,100 tons, the silk yield has been 93,000 tons, even about 60,000 tons of tussah moth cocoons produced in China in 2005. However, accompanied by the ascension of the silk consumpution, the sonsiderable amount of by‐product and sericulture waste presented rising trend yearly. While, moth as insect having allergy protein, which use has been limited, but it has an excellent protein and active peptides and other ingredients (to improve immunity and sexual function), comprehensive utilization of silkmoth turns into meaningful topics. Using enzyme technology or fermentation technology (Protein degradation) to develop its protein resource utilization in silkmoth becomes the effective tools to solve this problem. The present experiments studied antioxidant activity by ultrafiltration technology and stability study of peptides from enzymatically hydrolyzed male silkmoth.

Morusin from mulberry inhibits the growth of S. aureus by destroying its cell membrane and further moderating the phosphatidic acid biosynthesis pathway.