“Ille salubris aestates peraget, qui nigris prandia moris finite.” — Horace, Satires 35 B.C. Ill
(He who ends his meal with mulberries will enjoy good health throughout the summer.)
Overview
Mulberry’s health benefits have been recognized for millennia. A recent study proved definitively that mulberry tea reduces post-meal glucose spikes. Several species of mulberry exist, but the individual considered here is the white mulberry morus alba, beloved of silkworms and birds.
Nursery rhymes notwithstanding, the mulberry is classified as a tree, not a bush, and can grow to 20 ft.
What are the known benefits?
An in vivo study of diabetes patients showed that drinking mulberry tea dampens blood glucose spikes after meals. Since spikes in blood sugar are believed to be the damaging events in type 2 diabetes, and since post-prandial spikes are the best predictors of diabetes, it follows that drinking mulberry tea might also help prevent progression from insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome toward full-blown diabetes.
As the “white” mulberry ripens, its berries gradually darken to a deep pink.
Are there other potential benefits?
Dampening post-prandial (after meal) spikes in blood sugar can lead to weight loss. There are indications it lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol, although I saw no information on VLDL – Very Low Density cholesterol – which may the true culprit in arterial plaque.
Are there studies debunking these claims?
https://sciencebasedpharmacy.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/mulberry-for-weight-loss/
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/unnatural-approach-to-diabetes.html
These two posts are old, and the studies since then seem to bear out the usefulness of mulberry.
What is the scientific mechanism at play?
This study found that mulberry leaf extract had a stronger effect in suppressing glucose absorption than did 1-deoxynojirimycin. Both compounds inhibit the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, which breaks down starch and disaccharides to glucose. The best guess is that the complete extract or a tea contains as yet unidentified phytochemicals that reduce glucose absorption.
Conclusion:
Science is closing in, but has not succeeded entirely in identifying all the healthful phytochemicals in mulberry.
Read reviews and more about mulberry products:
Click here for a further look at mulberry teas, powders and supplements.
References
As always, a great place to start is Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morus_alba
This article, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X14000412, is most pertinent in the context of diabetes. It measures a marked reduction in post-prandial glucose levels among patients who drank mulberry tea.