Chemical and Biological Examination of Leaves of Morus Indica

Abstract

Mulberry belongs to the genus Morus of the family Moraceae. It is an economically important plant being used for sericulture. Studies have been reported on the chemical composition and nutritional potentials of some mulberry species worldwide. In the present study the chemical examination of Morus indica leaves on conventional extraction and various chromatographic methods, led to the isolation of five compounds-β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside, β-sitosterol, salvigenin, cirisimaritin and quercitin. All the compounds were characterized by 2D NMR, MS spectral data and comparison with the published data for the known compounds. All the compounds were reported for the first time from the leaves of this species. The work was further extended to test the crude extracts for antibacterial and antifungal activities. The results from the present study have shown that the species have considerable activity against selected bacterial and fungal strains which can be attributed to the presence of steroidal and phenolic compounds in the crude extracts of Morus indica.