Abstract

MORUS (MULBERRY) AND ITS BRAIN-RELATED PROTECTIVE ACTIVITIES. LITERATURE UPDATE

Abdullatif Azab*

.

Abstract

Morus genus (mulberry) plants that are globally known as important fruiting trees. But in addition to their very high nutritional and economic values, they were used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Numerous research and review articles were published about their medicinal properties-activities. Yes, although many of these research publications are related to brain, very few review article summarized these results. In this review, an up-to-date presentation of these studies will be presented. Major focus will be on neuroprotection, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), memory protection and enhancement, and general cognitive wellbeing. Major active natural products will be shown in figures and some of these compounds will be extensively discussed in the discussion section. In addition, since Morus trees have a very large number of ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal uses, in this review article we will present only those uses that are brain-related. Finally, in the conclusions section, some future research recommendations will be proposed.

Keywords: Morus, Morus alba, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson disease, neuroprotective, aging, cognition, memory, anticonvulsant, antidepressant.