Medicinal properties of Morus alba for the control of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review

Abstract

<ns3:p> <ns3:bold>Background:</ns3:bold> The objective of this review was to evaluate the medicinal potential of <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves on the control of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The research question was: what is the therapeutic potential of <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves for the control of DM2? </ns3:p> <ns3:p> <ns3:bold>Methods:</ns3:bold> This systematic review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The included studies were extracted from Scopus, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scielo, and Google Scholar; January 2015 to July 2021. Key search terms were MeSH and DeCS: <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> , mulberry, hypoglycemic agent. The inclusion criteria were: studies in rats administered <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaf extracts; studies that included the dimensions of lipidemia and glycemia; studies that included indicators such as fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, total cholesterol, and insulin resistance. Exclusion criteria: studies in which <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves were administered with other plants; studies with other parts of the <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> plant; proteomic studies, cancer, duplicate studies, <ns3:italic>in vitro</ns3:italic> studies, and evaluation of included studies. All included investigations were evaluated for biases. </ns3:p> <ns3:p> <ns3:bold>Results:</ns3:bold> Of 253 studies found, 29 were included. The extracts of <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves at the phytochemical level improve glucose uptake. Chlorogenic acid, isoquercitrin, and quercitrin, present in the leaves of <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> , have hypoglycemic properties and an ameliorating effect on diabetic nephropathy. This leaf has pharmacological effects such as glucose absorption, insulin secretion production, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities, and obesity management. </ns3:p> <ns3:p> <ns3:bold>Conclusions:</ns3:bold> <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves have pharmacological effects on DM2 that include glucose absorption, production of insulin secretion, antioxidant agent, antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities, and obesity control. Beyond these results, there is a lack of studies on the potential and synergistic effects of <ns3:italic>Morus alba</ns3:italic> leaves' components, limiting the possibility of a more effective therapy using the plant's leaves. </ns3:p>

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