Traditionally, mulberry fruit has been used as a medicinal agent to nourish the yin and blood, benefit the kidneys, and treat weakness, fatigue, anemia, and premature graying of hair. It is also used utilized to treat urinary incontinence, tinnitus, dizziness, and constipation in the elderly and the anemic.
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As a result of working with the fresh fruits to yield a juice product, the constituents have been analyzed. The main content of fresh, ripe mulberry fruit is:
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Water: 85-88%
Carbohydrate (sugars, mainly glucose and fructose, producing the sweet taste): 7.8-9.2%
Protein: 0.4-1.5%
Fat (mainly fatty acids, such as linoleic, stearic, and oleic acids in the seeds): 0.4-0.5%
Free acids (mainly malic acid, producing the sour taste): 1.1-1.9%
Fiber: 0.9-1.4%
Minerals: 0.7-0.9%
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Mulberry is a kind of nourishing tonic medicine that can broadly be used to cure some debility symptoms when used with other restoratives. The person who has symptoms such as anemia, dizziness, or low libido, can take a tonic to build up health with mulberry. An electuary, made from a prescription of mulberry with medlar, ligustrum, and schizandra, can nourish and enrich the blood; the wine made by immersing the mulberry in rice wine or grape wine, is a medicament for weakness after diseases that can also be used to tonify masculine vitality and benefit overall vitality.
Mulberry can nourish and promote production of body fluid. The person who has body fluid deficiency often feels their mouth parched and tongue scorched. When mulberry is ripe in the summer, a person can take one ounce every day. This product has a faint scent and sweet taste, suitable for people of all ages. Brew water to take the dry fruit, using 10 grams each time. The person who has dry eyes and uses their eyes a lot during work can drink mulberry juice, which can nourish the body fluid and strengthen sight.
Mulberry contains plentiful nutritious elements, such as minerals and vitamins; it can cure chronic diseases of the digestive tract, promote gastric juice secretion, strengthen the ability for digesting and assimilating, improve the appetite, and eliminate abdominal distention and constipation. Mulberry is suitable also for chronic gastritis and chronic hepatitis.
Mulberry has the function of nourishing blood. If the person who has anemia, pallor, dizziness, insomnia, and heart-palpitations regularly takes mulberry juice, they will experience good effects. Women who have the above symptoms after childbirth, or anyone after a long-time sickness or after a major operation, can take mulberry frequently as a restorative. Compounding with other herbs to make Wuchang, mulberry is combined with tang-kuei, ligustrum, and rehmannia. A prescription or compound such as Wuchang can nourish blood, blacken hair, and help grow hair. Those who experience premature aging, such as graying hair and impotence, can take mulberry often. The pill, electuary, and wine all have high efficacy. The effect will be better for blackening hair and beautifying when it is combined with tang-kuei, ho-shou-wu, and drynaria. The mulberry juice can also be applied topically to the head to promote healthy hair growth.
Though not studied intensively, mulberry fruits appear to contain one main class of non-nutrient active constituents, which are the anthocyanins. In particular, it is known to contain cyanin (the structure presented here), which contributes the red pigment that gives the fruit a red to purple color. The content in ripe fruits is about 0.2%; an ounce of fruit would provide about 60 mg anthocyanins. The dried fruits are used in doses of 9-15 grams per day in decoction, and this can yield about 90-150 mg of anthocyanins. In Chinese diets, this component may have been low, in which case, such herbal supplements (decoctions or juices) can be an important source.
Studies with anthocyanins in laboratory animals suggest antioxidant activity as a dominant feature, but also cardiovascular protection, immune enhancement, antiviral activity, and stress reduction as potential health benefits.