Mulberry leaves and fruit contain compounds that may encourage beneficial gut bacteria, according to a review from Wroclaw Medical University reported by ScienceDaily. Published in the journal Biomolecules, the review brought together animal and laboratory research on white and black mulberry, covering leaf compounds such as 1-deoxynojirimycin as well as fruit polyphenols, anthocyanins and polysaccharides.
Across those studies, mulberry preparations shifted gut microbes toward beneficial species and increased production of short-chain fatty acids, changes some studies linked to better glucose and lipid markers. In mice fed a high-fat diet, a combined white mulberry fruit fraction of polyphenols and polysaccharides produced more favourable changes than either component alone.
The researchers note that results varied with plant part, species and processing, and that no human studies have yet tested mulberry’s effects on gut bacteria. Professor Anna Prescha said the goal is to identify which combinations produce specific effects, rather than to search for a single universal product.