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Morus alba L. fruit, a medicinal and edible fruit in East Asia, showed potential health-promoting effects against metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, both the protective effects and mechanisms of different fractions extracted from Morus alba L. fruit against MetS remain unclear. Additionally, the gut microbiota and its metabolites are regarded as key factors in the development of MetS. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of polyphenols and polysaccharides derived from Morus alba L. fruit against MetS in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice, individually and in combination, focusing on remodeling effects on gut microbiota and metabolite profiles. In the study, polyphenols and polysaccharides derived from Morus alba L. fruit improved the traditional pharmacodynamic parameters of MetS, including reductions in body weight (BW) and fat accumulation, improvement in insulin resistance, regulation of dyslipidemia, prevention of pathological changes in liver, kidney and proximal colon tissue, and suppressive actions against oxidative stress. In particular, the group treated with polyphenols and polysaccharides in combination showed better efficacy. The relative abundance of beneficial bacterial genera Muribaculum and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group were increased to various degrees, while opportunistic pathogens such as Prevotella_2, Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium and Fusobacterium were markedly decreased after treatments. Moreover, fecal metabolite profiles revealed 23 differential metabolites related to treatments with polyphenols and polysaccharides derived from Morus alba L. fruit, individually and in combination. Altogether, these results demonstrated that polyphenols and polysaccharides derived from Morus alba L. fruit attenuated MetS in HFD-fed mice, and improved the gut microbiota composition and fecal metabolite profiles.

The aim of this study was to compare the phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity of infusions made from commercially available Morus alba L. leaves with those of infusions made from a naturally collected source. The phenolic profile was determined using RP-HPLC–DAD and LC-Q-TOF–MS/MS. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using Folin-Ciocâlteu reagent. To assess the antioxidant and reducing properties, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were used. Our analysis revealed the presence of two phenolic acids and six flavonoids. The most abundant compound was chlorogenic acid. The TPC, TEAC, and FRAP results indicated that infusions prepared from naturally collected samples exhibited greater phenolic content (19.7—52.6 vs 18.1—35.2 mg/100 ml) and stronger antioxidant (0.0605—0.1842 vs 0.0453—0.0822 mmol Trolox/100 ml) and reducing (0.244—0.597 vs 0.202—0.371 mmol Fe 2+ /100 ml) activities than those of commercially available products in the Polish market. Samples L1-L3 from the natural collection were those with the highest values. These results were further supported by principal component analysis (PCA), which categorized observations into three distinct clusters.

The mulberry leaf is a classic herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. It has also been used as animal feed for livestock and its fruits have been made into a variety of food products. Traditionally, mulberry ( Morus alba L.) leaf harvesting after frost is thought to have better medicinal properties, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unsolved. To elucidate the biological basis of mulberry leaves after frost, we first explored the content changes of various compounds in mulberry leaves at different harvest times. Significant enrichment of flavonoids was observed with a total of 224 differential metabolites after frost. Subsequently, we analyzed the transcriptomic data of mulberry leaves collected at different harvest times and successfully annotated 22,939 unigenes containing 1,695 new genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed 26, 20, and 59 unigenes related to flavonoids synthesis in three different groups harvested at different times. We found that the expression levels of flavonoid biosynthesis-related unigenes also increased when harvested at a delayed time, which was consistent with the flavonoid accumulation discovered by the metabolomic analysis. The results indicated that low temperature may be a key trigger in flavonoid biosynthesis of mulberry leaves by increasing the expression of flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes. This study also provided a theoretical basis for the optimal harvest time of mulberry leaves.

Main ConclusionThe novel C-methyltransferase, MaMT1, could catalyze the conversion of piperidine to 2-methylpiperidine, which may be involved in the methylation step of DNJ biosynthesis in mulberry leaves.Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is a worldwide crop with medicinal, feeding and nutritional value, and 1-deoxynojirimycin ((2R, 3R, 4R, 5S)-2-hydroxymethyl-3, 4, 5-trihydroxypiperidine, DNJ) alkaloid, a potent α-glucosidase inhibitor, is its main active ingredient. Our previous researches clarified the biosynthetic pathway of DNJ from lysine to Δ1-piperideine, but its downstream pathway is unclear. Herein, eight differential methyltransferases (MTs) genes were screened from transcriptome profiles of mulberry leaves with significant differences in DNJ content (P < 0.01). Subsequently, MaMT1 (OM140666) and MaMT2 (OM140667) were hypothesized as candidate genes related to DNJ biosynthesis by correlation analysis of genes expression levels and DNJ content of mulberry leaves at different dates. Functional characterization of MaMT1 and MaMT2 were performed by cloning, prokaryotic expression and enzymatic reaction in vitro, and it showed that MaMT1 protein could catalyze the conversion of piperidine to 2-methylpiperidine. Moreover, molecular docking confirmed the interaction of MaMT1 protein with piperidine and S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM), indicating that MaMT1 had C-methyltransferase activity, while MaMT2 did not. The above results suggested that MaMT1 may be involved in the methylation step of DNJ alkaloid biosynthesis in mulberry leaves, which is a breakthrough in the analysis of DNJ alkaloid biosynthetic pathway. It is worth mentioning that the novel MaMT1, annotated as serine hydroxymethyltransferase, could rely on SAM to perform C-methyltransferase function. Therefore, our findings contribute new insights into the research of DNJ alkaloid biosynthesis and C-methyltransferase family.

The total flavonoids in leaves of 12 varieties of Korean mulberry (Morus alba L.) were determined. Seventeen flavonoids were isolated and analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–DAD–QTOF/MS). To determine the flavonoid contents, HPLC analysis was performed on these 17 flavonoids. The total flavonoid contents of the 12 varieties of mulberry leaves ranged from 748.5 to 1297.9 mg, with the highest obtained from the Cheong Su variety (1297.9 ± 112.0 mg). Among the 17 flavonoids analyzed, quercetin 3-O-rutinoside (rutin) and quercetin 3-O-glucoside (isoquercitrin) had highest contents in the Cheong Su variety. Furthermore, the Dae Dang Sang variety gave the highest quercetin 3-O-rutinoside (rutin) content among the mulberry leaves investigated, at 425.5 ± 45.9 mg. Major flavonols from Dae Dang Sang were detected by UPLC–DAD–QTOF/MS. A total of 17 flavonoid compound peaks were identified in the analysis time range of 5–40 min, all of which were kaempferol and quercetin glycosides. Seven of the 17 compounds identified in mulberry leaves were unknown.

Woody plants have considerable application potential in the phytoremediation schemes, owing to their long-lived large biomass and prosperous root systems in heavy metal(loid)–contaminated soil. Under greenhouse conditions, the physiological response characteristics and phytoremediation possibility of Morus alba L. and its associated improvement of the bacterial and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) diversities in heavy metal(loid) co-contaminated soils were investigated. The results showed that the cultivated M . alba L. plant exhibited significant tolerance against the heavy metal(loid)s in co-contaminated soil and that the microbial diversities were improved notably. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in M . alba L. leaves decreased with cultivation from 90 to 270 days, while the superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase activities were maintained at normal levels to eliminate the production of lipid peroxides. The chemical compositions (e.g. amino acids, carbohydrates and proteins) in the root of M . alba L. fluctuated slightly throughout the cultivation period. Meanwhile, Cd, Pb and Zn were majorly concentrated in the M . alba L. roots, and the maximum contents were 23.4, 7.40 and 615.5 mg/kg, respectively. According to the polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis results, the influence of M. alba L. on the rhizosphere AMF community was greater than that on the bacteria community. Meanwhile, the bacterial and AMF Shannon diversity indexes in the contaminated soil were enhanced by 18.7–22.0% and 7.14–16.4%, respectively, with the presence of M. alba L. Furthermore, the correlations between the availability of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn and Shannon diversity indexes of the bacterial and AMF communities were significantly ( p < 0.05) positive with the phytoremediation of M . alba L. Therefore, M . alba L. can be suggested as a potential plant candidate for ecological remediation and for simultaneously improving the activity and diversity of microorganisms in contaminated soils.

This study aims to test the cytoprotective effect of Morus alba L. fruit extracts on cell viability and its suitability as a transport medium for avulsed teeth. Materials and Methods . Two Morus alba L. fruit extracts were synthesized, E1 and E2. The E1 extract was composed of fresh mulberry fruits, whereas the E2 extract was made from dehydrated fruits. The cytoprotective effect of the E1 and E2 extracts was determined using MTS testing over 5000 and 10,000 cells, after a 48 h incubation period, and sampling times of 1 h and 3 h. The concentrations tested were 50 μg/mL (E1A and E2A), 150 μg/mL (E1B and E2B), and 250 μg/mL (E1C and E2C). The data was analyzed using the one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test ( p < 0.05) and post hoc LSD (least significant difference) analysis ( p < 0.1). Results. The post hoc LSD analysis based on the concentration of the E1 extract showed statistically differences ( p < 0.1), and for the E2 extract, the results were highly significant ( p = 0.011). As a function of concentration between the populations, there are significant differences between E1A and E1B ( p = 0.071) and between E1B and E1C ( p = 0.084), and statistically insignificant differences between E1A and E1C ( p = 0.919). Significant differences were also detected between the E2A and E2B extracts ( p = 0.047) and between E2B and E2C ( p = 0.004). Conclusions . Analyzing the preliminary results of our study, we can conclude that the M. alba L. extract can be considered a potential transport medium for avulsed teeth.

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves have been used to lower blood glucose in patients with diabetes. We evaluated the effects of mulberry leaves extract (MLE) and 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) in improving insulin resistance through the activation of the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway in the skeletal muscle of db/db mice. Histological analysis revealed an amelioration of muscle deformation and increased muscle fiber size. MLE and 1-DNJ positively raised the protein expression of related glucose uptake and increased the translocation of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) to the membrane. Furthermore, MLE and 1-DNJ activated the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway in the skeletal muscle and, subsequently, modulated the protein levels of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3β) and glycogen synthase (GS), leading to elevated muscle glycogen content. These findings suggest that MLE and 1-DNJ supplementation improves insulin resistance by modulating the insulin signaling pathway in the skeletal muscle of db/db mice.

A 3-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the accumulation ability of 3 forage mulberry ( Morus atropurpurea Roxb.) varieties (Guisangyou 62, Guisangyou 12, Yuesang 11) for Cadmium (Cd). The results showed that the shoot biomass of forage mulberry could reach to 64.51~69.58 t/ha in 2018. The total production of Guisangyou 12 was the highest among the tested 3 cultivars in each year. However, the biomass of the 3 varieties displayed without significant differences at every sampling time. In addition, the concentrations of Cd in the roots of the 3 mulberry cultivars were higher than those in the corresponding shoots in 2018. But in 2019, the Cd content in roots was near to that of shoots. The Cd concentrations in the roots of the forage mulberry showed Guisangyou 62 > Yuesang 11 > Guisangyou 12. And the Cd concentrations in shoots of all the 3 tested forage mulberry varieties were less than 1 mg/kg, meeting the hygienical standard for feeds (China). Though the 3 forage mulberry varieties were not hyperaccumulators for Cd, they could be used as alternative plants to make use of the Cd-polluted (< 1.0 mg/kg) paddy soils.

In recent decades there has been an increasing use of remotely sensed data for precision agricultural purposes. Sericulture, the activity of rearing silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) larvae to produce silk in the form of cocoons, is an agricultural practice that has rarely used remote sensing techniques but that could benefit from them. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using satellite imaging in order to monitor leaf harvesting in mulberry (Morus alba L.) plants cultivated for feeding silkworms; additionally, quantitative parameters on silk cocoon production were related to the analyses on vegetation indices. Adopting PlanetScope satellite images, four M. alba fields were monitored from the beginning of the silkworm rearing season until its end in 2020 and 2021. The results of our work showed that a decrease in the multispectral vegetation indices in the mulberry plots due to leaf harvesting was correlated with the different parameters of silk cocoons spun by silkworm larvae; in particular, a decrease in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) had high correlations with quantitative silk cocoon production parameters (R2 values up to 0.56, p < 0.05). These results led us to the conclusion that precision agriculture can improve sericultural practice, offering interesting solutions for estimating the quantity of produced silk cocoons through the remote analysis of mulberry fields.