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Mulberry has attracted wide attention due to its substantial nutritional values. This work first studied the protective effect of mulberry anthocyanins (MAS) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. The mice experiment was designed as four groups including normal mice (Control), dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-fed mice, and DSS plus 100 mg/kg·bw MAS-fed mice (LMAS-DSS) or DSS plus 200 mg/kg·bw MAS-fed mice (HMAS-DSS). Mice were given MAS by gavage for 1 week, and then DSS was added to the drinking water for 7 days. MAS was administered for a total of 17 days. The results showed that oral gavage of MAS reduced the disease activity index (DAI), prevented colon shortening, attenuated colon tissue damage and inflammatory response, suppressed colonic oxidative stress and restored the protein expression of intestinal tight junction (TJ) protein (ZO-1, occludin and claudin-3) in mice with DSS-induced colitis. In addition, analysis of 16S rRNA amplicon sequences showed that MAS reduced the DSS-induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis, including a reduction in Escherichia-Shigella, an increase in Akkermansia, Muribaculaceae and Allobaculum. Collectively, MAS alleviates DSS-induced colitis by maintaining the intestinal barrier, modulating inflammatory cytokines, and improving the microbial community.

The effectiveness of herbal medicine in treating diabetes has grown in recent years, but the precise mechanism by which it does so is still unclear to both medical professionals and diabetics. In traditional Chinese medicine, mulberry leaf is used to treat inflammation, colds, and antiviral illnesses. Mulberry leaves are one of the herbs with many medicinal applications, and as mulberry leaf study grows, there is mounting evidence that these leaves also have potent anti-diabetic properties. The direct role of mulberry leaf as a natural remedy in the treatment of diabetes has been proven in several studies and clinical trials. However, because mulberry leaf is a more potent remedy for diabetes, a deeper understanding of how it works is required. The bioactive compounds flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, polyphenols, volatile oils, sterols, amino acids, and a variety of inorganic trace elements and vitamins, among others, have been found to be abundant in mulberry leaves. Among these compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, and polyphenols have a stronger link to diabetes. Of course, trace minerals and vitamins also contribute to blood sugar regulation. Inhibiting alpha glucosidase activity in the intestine, regulating lipid metabolism in the body, protecting pancreatic -cells, lowering insulin resistance, accelerating glucose uptake by target tissues, and improving oxidative stress levels in the body are some of the main therapeutic properties mentioned above. These mechanisms can effectively regulate blood glucose levels. The therapeutic effects of the bioactive compounds found in mulberry leaves on diabetes mellitus and their associated molecular mechanisms are the main topics of this paper’s overview of the state of the art in mulberry leaf research for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Leaf biomass from the mulberry plant (genus Morus and family Moraceae) is considered a potential resource for livestock feeding. Mulberry leaves (MLs) contain high protein (14.0–34.2%) and metabolizable energy (1130–2240 kcal/kg) with high dry matter (DM) digestibility (75–85%) and palatability. Flavonoid contents of MLs confer unique antioxidant properties and can potentially help alleviate oxidative stress in animals during stressful periods, such as neonatal, weaning, and periparturient periods. In addition, mulberry leaf flavonoids (MLFs) possess antimicrobial properties and can effectively decrease the population of ruminal methanogens and protozoa to reduce enteric methane (CH4) production. Owing to its rich flavonoid content, feeding MLs increases fiber digestion and utilization leading to enhanced milk production in ruminants. Dietary supplementation with MLFs alters ruminal fermentation kinetics by increasing total volatile fatty acids, propionate, and ammonia concentrations. Furthermore, they can substantially increase the population of specific cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen. Owing to their structural homology with steroid hormones, the MLFs can potentially modulate different metabolic pathways particularly those linked with energy homeostasis. This review aims to highlight the potential of ML and its flavonoids to modulate the ruminal microbiome, fermentation, and metabolic status to enhance productive performance and health in ruminants while reducing CH4 emission.

In this study, three kinds of wines separately made from mulberry (MW), grape (GW), or mulberry/grape (MGW) were developed and their enological parameters, sensory scores, volatile components, and microbiota were investigated and compared. Contrary to the order of residual sugar and acidity of the three kinds of wines, the order of alcohol content from high to low is GW, MW, and MGW. A total of 60 volatile components (VCs), including esters (17), alcohols (12), acids (6), aldehydes (7), ketones (3), alkenes (3), amines (3), alkanes (4), pyrazines (2), benzene (1), sulfide (1), and thiazole (1), were identified by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometer (GC-IMS). The fingerprint of VCs and principal component analysis revealed that the volatile profiles of MGW and GW were more similar in comparison to that of MW and were significantly correlated with the mass ratio of mulberry to grape. Lactobacillus, Weissella, Pantoea, Leuconostoc, Lactococcus, Paenibacillus, Pediococcus, and Saccharomyces were identified as the main microflora at the genus level shared by the MW, MGW, and GW, suggesting that the heterolactic bacteria may contribute more to the high content of volatile acids in MW and MGW. The heatmap of core microbiota and main VCs of MW, MGW, and GW suggested the complicated and significant correlation between them. The above data implied that the volatile profiles were more closely related to the raw materials of winemaking and markedly affected by the fermentation microorganisms. This study provides references for evaluation and characterization of MGW and MW and improvement of MGW and MW winemaking process.Key points• Fruit wine enological parameters, volatile profile, and microbiota were compared.• Sixty volatile compounds were identified by GC-IMS in three types of fruit wines.• Winemaking materials and microbiota affect volatile profiles of the fruit wines.

Resveratrol is the most well-known polyphenolic stilbenoid, present in grapes, mulberries, peanuts, rhubarb, and in several other plants. Resveratrol can play a beneficial role in the prevention and in the progression of chronic diseases related to inflammation such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, and cancers among other conditions. Moreover, resveratrol regulates immunity by interfering with immune cell regulation, proinflammatory cytokines’ synthesis, and gene expression. At the molecular level, it targets sirtuin, adenosine monophosphate kinase, nuclear factor-κB, inflammatory cytokines, anti-oxidant enzymes along with cellular processes such as gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. Resveratrol can suppress the toll-like receptor (TLR) and pro-inflammatory genes’ expression. The antioxidant activity of resveratrol and the ability to inhibit enzymes involved in the production of eicosanoids contribute to its anti-inflammation properties. The effects of this biologically active compound on the immune system are associated with widespread health benefits for different autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. This review offers a systematic understanding of how resveratrol targets multiple inflammatory components and exerts immune-regulatory effects on immune cells.

Background Mulberry ( Morus spp.) is an economically important woody plant, which has been used for sericulture (silk farming) for thousands of years. The genetic background of mulberry is complex due to polyploidy and frequent hybridization events. Results Comparative genomic in situ hybridization (cGISH) and self-GISH were performed to illustrate the chromosome constitution and genetic relationships of 40 mulberry accessions belonging to 12 species and three varietas in the Morus genus and containing eight different ploidy levels. We identified six homozygous cGISH signal patterns and one heterozygous cGISH signal pattern using four genomic DNA probes. Using cGISH and self-GISH data, we defined five mulberry sections ( Notabilis , Nigra , Wittiorum , and Cathayana , all contained only one species; and Alba , which contained seven closely related species and three varietas, was further divided into two subsections) and proposed the genetic relationships among them. Differential cGISH signal patterns detected in section Alba allowed us to refine the genetic relationships among the closely related members of this section. Conclusions We propose that GISH is an efficient tool to investigate the chromosome constitution and genetic relationships in mulberry. The results obtained here can be used to guide outbreeding of heterozygous perennial crops like mulberry.

Soil salinization has emerged as a major concern, significantly limiting agricultural development in China. Nitrogen plays a crucial role in maintaining the cycling of key substances and energy metabolism within plants. When applied under salt stress, nitrogen can mitigate some of the detrimental effects of salinity on plants, thus improving growth performance and physiological resilience under saline conditions. In this study, one-year-old ‘Gui 109’ feed mulberry seedlings were used as experimental material in a hydroponic setup to investigate the impact of varying nitrogen levels on the growth, photosynthetic parameters, and physiological responses of the seedlings under different salinity stress levels. The results indicated that, with increasing nitrogen concentration and prolonged stress duration, the plant height, photosynthetic parameters, antioxidant system, osmotic regulation system of feed mulberry seedlings increased first and then decreased, while the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration decreased first and then increased. Early in the stress period, there were no significant changes in the seedlings’ photosynthetic parameters, but in the later stages, both low- and high-nitrogen treatments caused noticeable alterations. In the early stages, moderate nitrogen application significantly enhanced leaf SOD activity. In the prestress phase, 10 mmol/L nitrogen notably increased fine root POD activity, while in the later stages, this nitrogen concentration significantly increased leaf POD activity. Leaf CAT activity peaked at 10 mmol/L, whereas fine root CAT activity peaked at both 6 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L. MDA content in both leaves and fine roots was highest at 6 mmol/L, and soluble protein, soluble sugar, proline contents were also highest at 6 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L. Correlation analysis revealed strong relationships between various growth and physiological indicators, particularly between photosynthetic parameters, as well as between photosynthetic parameters and the antioxidant and osmotic regulation systems. The correlation between photosynthetic parameters was the strongest, with all coefficients exceeding 0.9. In conclusion, while excessive salinity inhibits the growth and development of feed mulberry, moderate nitrogen application significantly enhances antioxidant enzyme activity in both leaves and fine roots, and increases osmotic regulators, thereby alleviating the detrimental effects of high salinity. However, both low and high nitrogen levels adversely affect photosynthesis, ultimately impairing the growth and physiological development of the seedlings.

Background Mulberry ( Morus L.) is an economically important plant with abundant resources distributed around the world. Mulberries now have different breeding directions and uses of leaves or fruits, and additionally wild mulberries in natural environments. The classification of mulberry species is inconsistent, as previous phylogenetic and taxonomic studies using morphological and molecular markers have yielded low resolution. Additionally, the phylogenetic relationships among the three uses haven’t been studied to date. Herein, 25 Morus plants representing the three uses were selected, their chloroplast (cp.) genomes were sequenced and analyzed, including cp. genome structure, features and phylogenetic relationships using cp. genomes and SSR markers. Results The cp. genome sequences of 25 Morus plants were determined to be 159,008–159,346 bp in length, which included a pair of inverted repeats of 25,654, 25,678 or 25,690 bp that separated a large single copy region of 87,912–88,142 bp and a small single copy region of 19,740–19,853 bp. Annotation showed that they contained a total of 129 genes: 84 protein-coding, 37 tRNA and eight rRNA genes. Comparative genomics showed that the cp. sequence among Morus was relatively conserved, while there were still some high variation regions, and SSR loci with length or nucleotide content polymorphism. The phylogenetic trees constructed using maximum likelihood analysis and Bayesian inference method based on the cp. genome sequences, and the Neighbor-Joining dendrogram based on SSRs, all suggested that the species in this study could be distinguished as three clades, consistent with their uses: leaves, fruits and wild mulberries. In addition, some specific SSRs distributed in the clades may be useful for classification and identification of Morus plants. Conclusion This study obtained the cp. genomes of 25 Morus plants and provided the first comparative cp. genome analysis of Morus species categorized by uses, identifying specific SSR markers for classification, which enhanced our comprehension on their classification and phylogenetic relationships.

Seed propagation is the main method of mulberry expansion in China, an important economic forest species. However, seed germination is the most sensitive stage to various abiotic stresses, especially salinity stress. To reveal the molecular regulatory mechanism of mulberry seed germination under salt stress, flavonoid metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses were performed on mulberry seeds germinated under 50 and 100 mmol/L NaCl stress. Analysis of the flavonoid metabolome revealed that a total of 145 differential flavonoid metabolites (DFMs) were classified into 9 groups, 40 flavonols, 32 flavones, 16 chalcones and 14 flavanones. Among them, 61.4% (89) of the DFMs accumulated continuously with increasing salt concentration, reaching the highest level at a 100 mmol/L salt concentration; these DFMs included quercetin-3-O-glucoside (isoquercitrin), kaempferol (3,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxyflavone), quercetin-7-O-glucoside, taxifolin (dihydroquercetin) and apigenin (4',5,7-trihydroxyflavone), indicating that these flavonoids may be key metabolites involved in the response to salt stress. Transcriptional analysis identified a total of 3055 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), most of which were enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis (ko00941), phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (ko00940) and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (ko01110). Combined analysis of flavonoid metabolomic and transcriptomic data indicated that phenylalanine ammonia-lyase ( PAL ), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase ( 4CL ), chalcone synthase ( CHS ), flavonol synthase ( FLS ), bifunctional dihydroflavonol 4-reductase/flavanone 4-reductase ( DFR ) and anthocyanidin reductase ( ANR ) were the key genes involved in flavonoid accumulation during mulberry seed germination under 50 and 100 mmol/L NaCl stress. In addition, three transcription factors, MYB, bHLH and NAC, were involved in the regulation of flavonoid accumulation under salt stress. The results of quantitative real-time PCR (qRT‒PCR) validation showed that the expression levels of 11 DEGs, including 7 genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, under different salt concentrations were consistent with the transcriptomic data, and parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) results showed that the expression levels of 6 key enzymes (proteins) involved in flavonoid synthesis were consistent with the accumulation of flavonoids. This study provides a new perspective for investigating the regulatory role of flavonoid biosynthesis in the regulation of mulberry seed germination under salt stress at different concentrations.

The antiobesity molecular mechanisms of mulberry leave components were analyzed based on intestinal micro-ecology and metabolomics. An obesity model was established by feeding rats with a high-calorie diet. Rats were divided into seven groups: the obesity model control (MC), positive control (PC), mulberry leaf powder (MLP), mulberry leaf fiber (MLF), mulberry leaf polyphenols (MLPS), mulberry leaf fiber and polyphenols mixture (MLM), and normal control (NC), and fed daily for 6 consecutive weeks. The results demonstrated that the MLM group had the best efficiency on weight loss, indicating synergistic interactions between MLPS and MLF. The reduction of Firmicutes abundance, and the downstream Clostridiales, Lachnespiraceae, was a key pathway for the antiobesity effects. The increased abundances of Lactobacillus vaginalis and Lactobacillus gasseri might result in lipid metabolism disorder. The test groups regulated the amino acid and oligopeptides metabolic disorder tents to normal levels compared with the MC and NC groups.