It’s long been said that “food is medicine,” and the mulberry plant is a great example of the adage. Mulberry has been utilized for its healing properties for centuries.
Research has shown that mulberries help combat illness with anticancer, anti-aging, and lipid-lowering effects. They are nutrition-dense—rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and polyphenolic compounds like anthocyanins. Mulberries also serve up a dish of health benefits as they are antioxidant, blood sugar-lowering, immune-modulating, and have protective effects on the kidneys, heart, liver, and skin.
Anticancer Effect
In a 2020 study, researchers treated tumor-bearing mice with compounds isolated from mulberries. The results showed a significant reduction in the size and weight of the tumors, indicating that mulberry extract “can exert an anticancer effect” in lung cancer cells in vivo.
Lipid-Lowering Effects
A 2009 study found that compared to hamsters fed only a high-fat diet, those fed a high-fat diet supplemented with 1 or 2 percent mulberry extract had plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels significantly lower by about 30 to 37 percent and 16 to 35 percent, respectively. Similar results were observed in the liver’s total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Ellen Wan
Author
Ellen Wan has worked for the Japanese edition of The Epoch Times since 2007.
