Why has mulberry leaf extract attracted brands like Yuanqi Forest and Sanyuan to enter the market?
As the saying goes, "Luofu loved silkworms and mulberry trees, gathering mulberry leaves in the southern corner of the city." Sericulture is a traditional industry in my country, so when we mention "mulberry leaf," we immediately think of silkworms. However, beyond feeding silkworms, mulberry leaf is also an approved food and medicine ingredient in my country, and mulberry leaf extract can be equated with mulberry leaf extract as a food and medicine ingredient.
The renowned Compendium of Materia Medica describes mulberry leaf as follows: "Mulberry leaf juice, when boiled, can replace tea and quench thirst"; "Mulberry leaf decoction after moxibustion can be used as a substitute for tea to quench thirst." The Chinese Pharmacopoeia also states: "Mulberry leaf enters the lung and liver meridians. It dispels wind-heat, clears the lungs and moisturizes dryness, clears the liver and improves eyesight. It is used for wind-heat colds, lung-heat and dry coughs, dizziness, headaches, and red and blurred vision."
Amidst the rapidly changing global pandemic, people are increasingly concerned about their health and are increasingly interested in functional food ingredients.
A search revealed 7,014 articles related to mulberry leaves on PubMed Central (PMC) (as of November 25, 2021); CNKI lists nearly 19,000 related articles. Furthermore, mulberry leaf extract has found applications in a wider range of food products. For example, Yuanqi Forest has launched "Sugar-Free Mulberry Leaf Tea"; Sanyuan has released "Yitangping" yogurt with mulberry leaf extract; and Jijie has released "Hi Chi De Jie" sparkling drink with Sandoan® mulberry leaf extract.
1. Domestic Standards and Regulations
Mulberry leaf is a medicinal and edible ingredient.
Source: Ministry of Health Notice on Further Standardizing the Management of Health Food Ingredients (Weifajianfa [2002] No. 51)
(Note: Mulberry leaf extract, produced from mulberry leaves through water extraction, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, concentration, and spray drying, is substantially equivalent to mulberry leaves. Its hygiene and safety indicators comply with relevant Chinese food safety standards.)
DB13/T 5236-2020 Technical Specification for Mulberry Leaf Extract Extraction
Extraction Process: Adding ingredients → Soaking in water → Decoction (twice) → Standing → Concentration → Drying → Powder Collection
T/CCCMHPIE 1.55-2021 Plant Extracts: Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/HZD 0026 S-2019 Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/DB 0020 S-2019 Mulberry Leaf Extract for the Food Industry (This standard will be abolished on February 21, 2022)
Q/YLXE 0005 S-2019 Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/HSHLY 0041 S-2021 Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/SJKW 0099 S-2021 Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/HZD 0026 S-2021 Mulberry Leaf Extract
Q/LYS 0030 S-2021 Mulberry Leaf Extract
2. International Regulatory Status
United States
A plant combination of chrysanthemum, licorice, grass jelly, honeysuckle, bamboo leaves, mulberry leaves, plumeria, prunella vulgaris, and sophora japonica has received GRAS certification and can be used as a flavoring in herbal teas (GRN No. 13).
White mulberry leaf extract (Morus alba Linn) can be used as an ingredient in various foods at a dosage of 120-240 mg per serving (GRN No.992, awaiting FDA review)
Japan
Mulberry leaf extract is a raw material for pharmaceutical additives (quasi-drug additives list)
India
Mulberry tea (mulberry leaf/fruit extract) can be used as a raw material for health food in the form of tablets, capsules and syrups
3. What are the effects of mulberry leaf extract
（1）Assisting in lowering blood sugar. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted by the Oxford Brookes Nutrition and Health Center showed that adding mulberry leaf extract to sucrose significantly reduced the blood sugar response and insulin response of the subjects (a total of 38 participants with normal blood sugar) compared with using sucrose alone;
（2）Assisting in lowering blood lipids. Researchers used high-cholesterol feed to study the effect of mulberry leaf extract on atherosclerosis in white rabbits and found that mulberry leaf effectively reduced serum cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C);
（3）Weight loss. Researchers used mice fed a high-fat diet as experimental subjects and found that the final weight of mice fed with mulberry leaves was lower than that of the control group. Microscopic analysis showed that mulberry leaves significantly reduced the number of fat cells, as well as the number and size of lipid droplets in the cells.
（4）Researchers used nematodes as an experimental model and found that mulberry leaf polyphenols can improve their resistance to oxidative stress, reduce the storage of fatty acids in the body, and thus delay their aging.
4. Product applications of mulberry leaf extract
（1）Sanyuan Yitangping Yogurt Ingredients: raw milk, lactic acid bacteria, inulin, resistant dextrin, polydextrose, erythritol, isomaltulose, aspartame, mulberry leaf extract, etc.
（2）TCMzone Japanese Mulberry Matcha Ingredients: natural mulberry leaf extract.
（3）Yuanqi Forest Sugar-Free Mulberry Leaf Tea Ingredients: mulberry leaves, white bitter melon, etc.
