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Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5(20), pp. 5197-5199, 30 September, 2011Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPRISSN 1996-0875 2011 Academic Journals

Short Communication

Morus nigra- L. A.

E. Mohiuddin1, Khan Usmanghani1, M. Akram1*, H.M.Asif2, Naveed Akhtar2, Pervaiz A. Shah3and M. Uzair4

1Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University Karachi, Pakistan.

2College of Conventional Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of

Bahawalpur, Pakistan.3University College of Pharmacy, Punjab University Lahore, Pakistan.

4Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan.

Accepted 30 August, 2011

Morus nigra L. (Moraceae) belongs to the genus Morusand is found in Africa, South America and inAsia.M. nigra has been used in Unani medicine as antitussive, diuretic, expectorant and hypotensive. Ithas wide range of medicinal uses and can be used either as single drug or compound drugs to treatdifferent ailments. The phenolic compounds of M. nigrahave anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial activities.The bark of M. nigra has been used as antihelmintic and its extracts have antibacterial and fungicidalactivity. In present article, medicinal uses of M. nigrahave been discussed.

Key words:Morus nigra, active constituents, previous research study.

INTRODUCTION

English name of Morus nigra is black mulberry.Vernacular name is shah tut. It belongs to familymoraceae. This is commonly found in Pakistan and west

Asia. Fruits and Leaves of M. nigraare usually used fortreatment of various ailments (Usmanghani et al., 1997).A deciduous tree growing up to 10 by 15 m at a slow rate.It is in flower from May to June and the seeds ripen fromAugust to September. The flowers are monoecious(individual flowers are either male or female, but bothsexes can be found on the same plant). The plant is self-fertile. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy)and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. Theplant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cangrow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. Itrequires moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution(Usmanghani et al., 1997; Dharmananda, 2003). The aim

of this study was to document the medicinal uses of M.nigra.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS

Though not studied intensively, mulberry fruits appear to

*Corresponding author. E-mail: makram_0451@yahoo.com.Tel: 92-021-6440083. Fax: 92-021-6440079.

contain one main class of non-nutrient activeconstituents, which are the anthocyanins. In particular, iis known to contain cyanin (VI), which contributes the red

pigment that gives the fruit a red to purple color (Naderet al., 2004). The content in ripe fruits is about 0.2%; anounce of fruit would provide about 60 mg anthocyaninsThe dried fruits are used in doses of 9 to15 g per day indecoction, and this can yield about 90 to 150 mg oanthocyanins. In Chinese diets, this component mayhave been low, in which case, such herbal supplements(decoctions or juices) can be an important source(Grieve, 1984) (Figure 1).

RESEARCH STUDY

Nutritional evaluation of M. nigra

A study was done in which nutritional value of M. nigrawas evaluated. The values for moisture, ash, proteinlipids, crude fibers, pectin, carbohydrates and computedcalorific values were analyzed. M. nigrawas proved to begood nutritional source and balanced diet (Ikhtiar et al.2008).

Anti-inflammatory properties of M. nigraleaves

A study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory

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5198 J. Med. Plant. Res.

Cyanin (VI)

Figure 1. Cyanin.

activity of M. nigra.Anti-inflammatory activity of M. nigraextract (MnE) was investigated on Carrageen an-induced

paw edema. The MnE at test doses of 100 to 300 mg/kgp.o. clearly demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects byreduced paw edema induced by carrageen (Marina,2010).

Studies on chemical constituents from bark of M.nigra

A study was conducted to investigate the chemicalconstituents in the barks of M. nigra. In this study, ninecompounds were isolated and identified as olcancolicacid, apigenin, cyclocommunol, morusin, cyclomorusin,

kuwanon C, daucosterol, ursolic acid and 63-sitosterol(Wang, 2007).

DISCUSSION

Anthelmintic, astringent, homeopathy, hypoglycemic,laxative, odontalgic, purgative

The mulberry has a long history of medicinal use inChinese medicine; almost all parts of the plant are usedin one way or another. The white mulberry (Morus alba)is normally used, but this species has the sameproperties. Recent research has shown improvements inelephantiasis when treated with leaf extract injections andin tetanus following oral doses of the sap mixed withsugar, Analgesic, emollient, sedative. The leaves areantibacterial, astringent, diaphoretic, hypoglycemic,odontalgic and ophthalmic (Zheng et al., 2010). They aretaken internally in the treatment of colds, influenza, eyeinfections and nosebleeds. The leaves are collected afterthe first frosts of autumn and can be used fresh but aregenerally dried. The stems are antirheumatic, diuretic,hypotensive and pectoral. A tincture of the bark is used torelieve toothache. The branches are harvested in late

spring or early summer and are dried for later use. Thefruit has a tonic effect on kidney energy. It is used in thetreatment of urinary incontinence, tinnitus, prematuregreying of the hair and constipation in the elderly. Itsmain use in herbal medicine is as a colouring andflavoring in other medicines (Souza et al., 2000). The root

bark is antitussive, diuretic, expectorant and hypotensiveIt is used internally in the treatment of asthma, coughsbronchitis, edema, hypertension and diabetes. The rootsare harvested in the winter and dried for later use. Thebark is anthelmintic and purgative, it is used to expel tapeworms. Extracts of the plant have antibacterial andfungicidal activity. A homeopathic remedy is made fromthe leaves. It is used in the treatment of diabetes (Bown1984; Chiej, 1984; Duke and Ayensu, 1985; Chopra eal., 1986). The root bark extract contains deoxyjirimycin(DNJ), an alkaloid has been identified in root bark of Mnigra. This alkaloid has been observed effective againsAIDS virus. An infusion of M. nigraleaves are effective inlowering blood sugar level (Singh and Ghosh, 1992)sometimes diuresis and a reduction of arterial pressureThe fruits are one of the constituent of Unani medicinenamed Tut- i-aswad which is said to be against cancer(Ahmad et al., 1985).

CONCLUSION

M. nigrahas been used as expectorant and antitussive inUnani system of medicine. As a conclusion, it is foundthat M. nigra is used to treat a variety of ailments and iseffective for the treatment of cough, influenza, asthmaand bronchitis.

REFERENCES

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Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC (1986). Glossary of Indian MedicinaPlants(Including the Supplement).Counc. Sci. Ind. Res., New Delhi.

Dharmananda S (2003). Fruit As Medicine Morus Fruit (Mulberry)Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon.

Duke JA, Ayensu ES (1985). Medicinal Plants of China ReferencePublications, Inc. ISBN 0-917256-20-4

Ikhtiar K, Imran M, Aziz Z, Saeed M (2008). Nutritional Evaluation ofMorus nigraand Vitis vinifera, J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 30(4): 637-641

Grieve M (1984). A Modern Herbal, Penguin. ISBN 0-14-046-440-9www.pfaf.org/database/plants.phpA,pium+graveolens+secalinum 23k.

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Naderi GA, Asgary S, Sarraf-Zadegan N, Oroojy H (2004). Antioxidanactivity of three extracts of Morus nigra. Phytother. Res., 18: 365369.

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prenylflavonoid isolated from Morus nigra root bark. J. Chem. Sci.(Bangalore, India), 55c: 256-260.

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