Phytochemical and Biological Screening of Morus Alba (L) Bark

The present study deals with phytochemical and biological screening of Morus alba L. bark (Moraceae). Genus Morus consists of over 150 species; among these it is dominant [1]. It is extensively cultivated throughout the plains of India, Pakistan and in the Himalayan hills up to 3300m elevation for its foliage [2]. Morus alba bark contains 1-deoxynojirimycin [3], moralbanone, kuwanon S, mulberroside C, cyclomorusin, leachianone G [4], mulberrofuran G and albanol B [5]. Various phytoconstituents had been isolated from methanolic extract of bark using chromatographic techniques, which were eluted with petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol with successive increasing polarity. Three known triterpenoids were isolated along with a new flavone characterized as 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-8-(γ,γ-dimethylallyl)-2',3'-(10'-hydroxy-9',10'-dimethyl-cyclohex-8-enyl)-flavone (1) on the basis of spectral data analysis [6]. Aqueous extract (500mg) of bark significantly lowered the elevated blood glucose level with improvement in the serum lipid profile of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

Acknowledgment: We are grateful to Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi for approval and support to bioactivity. Thanks also to CDRI, Lucknow, for providing instrumentation facility.

References: [1] Srivastava S, Kapoor R, etal. (2006), Int J Food Sci and Nutr 57: 305–313. [2] Anonymous (2001), The Wealth of India, A Dictionary of Raw Materials and Industrial Products, Raw Materials, CSIR, PID, New Delhi. 6 (L-M): 429–437. [3] Oku T, Yamada M, et al. (2006), British J of Nutr, 95: 933–938. [4] Du J, He ZD, et al. (2003) Phytochem, 62: 1235–1238. [5] Chi YS, Jong HG, et al. (2001)J of Biochemistry and Pharmacol, 62: 1185–1191. [6] Waffo AFK, Coombs PH, et al. (2006) Phytochemistry, 67: 459–463.