Mulberry (Moms alba) leaves as human food: a new dimension of sericulture

Abstract

Mulberry leaf is commonly used for sericulture in almost every part of the world but its potential to be utilized for human consumption is not well recognized. This paper deals with development of mulberry leaf powder and its use with wheat flour to develop paratha, the most common food item of breakfast and dinner in the Indian diet. The optimum ratio of the mulberry leaf powder and wheat flour (MLP-WF) mix for preparation of paratha on the basis of sensory quality was found to be 1:4. The protein quality of the MLP-WF mix was estimated by measuring the Protein Efficiency Ratio, and was found to be 1.82 against a casein diet for which a value of 2.44 was observed. The in vivo toxic effect of mix was studied and no adverse effect on the growth of internal organs of rats (heart, liver, kidney and testes) was found. The storage stability of the mix was estimated for a period of 2 months in polyethylene bags at room temperature. A non-significant difference was observed between paratha prepared from fresh and stored mix. This indicated that mix can be stored for a period of 2 months at room temperature without loss of quality.

Simultaneous quantitation of nucleosides, nucleobases, amino acids, and alkaloids in mulberry leaf by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry

“…Chemical standards of adenine (1), guanine (2), xanthine (3), thymine (10), inosine (13), arginine (15), histidine (16), lysine (17), tyrosine (20), valine (21), proline (22), glutamate (24), serine (27), threonine (28), alanine (29), tryptophan (31), phenylalanine (32), leucine (34), isoleucine (35), aspartic acid (37), 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) (39), and fagomine (40) were purchased from the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Beijing, China. Reference compounds of cytidine-5 -monophosphate (4), 2 -deoxyguanosine (5), 2 -deoxyuridine (8), 2 -deoxyinosine (9), cytidine (11), 2 -deoxyadenosine-5 monophosphate (12), thymidine (14), ornithine (18), hydroxyproline (19), citrulline (23), glutamine (25), asparagine (26), glycine (30), ␥-aminobutyric acid (36), and cysteine (38) were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). Chemical standards of 2 -deoxyadenosine (6) and 2 -deoxycytidine (7) were obtained from Aladdin Chemical, Shanghai, China.…”

Influence of Mulberry Leaf Extract on the Blood Glucose and Breath Hydrogen Response to Ingestion of 75 g Sucrose by Type 2 Diabetic and Control Subjects

“…While mulberry leaf is considered safe as a drug and a foodstuff in Asia (20), the extract contains multiple constituents, increasing the potential for idiosyncratic reactions. While unlikely, such reactions can be excluded only after extensive, monitored use of the extract.…”

The nutritive value of mulberry leaves (Morus alba) as a feed supplement for sheep

“…They can also be used as an ingredient in the diets of monogastric livestock, such as pigs (Ly et al 2001;Araque et al 2005;Leterme et al 2006) and laying hens (Narayana and Setty 1977). Recently, Srivastava et al (2003) investigated the potential of powdered dried mulberry leaves, which in mixture with wheat flour can be utilized for human consumption in Indian diets.…”