Black mulberry fruit is a plant which belong to the Tonic herbs for Yin Deficiency category in TICM. Tonic herbs are used for patterns of deficiency, when one lacks one of the Four Treasures (Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang). Yin tonics have a heavy, moist nature. Extreme Yin Deficiency often translates into a 'burn-out', unfortunately more and more common among people today. It is worth mentioning that another great remedy against Yin Deficiency is a lot of rest and sleep; no herb will ever be able to replace this. Furthermore, mulberry fruits are plants that are Cold in nature. This means that mulberry fruits typically help people who have too much Heat in their body. Depending on your condition mulberry fruits can help restore a harmonious balance between Yin and Yang.
Their organ affinity is the Heart, Kidney and Liver systems. Just as we categorise foods as having particular flavour profiles, we do the same with herbs to understand their actions in the body. Mulberry fruits are bitter and sour. Bitter ingredients like mulberry fruits tend to have a cleansing action on the body by clearing heat, drying dampness, and promoting elimination via urination or bowel movements. Sour ingredients help with digestion and restrain abnormal discharges of fluids from the body, such as diarrhea or heavy sweating.
A great diversity of nutritive compounds such as fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, including anthocyanins, rutin, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and polysaccharides have been found in mulberry fruit depending on the cultivars and maturity stages. Furthermore, the extracts and active components of mulberry fruit have demonstrated numerous biological activities, including antioxidant, neuroprotective, antiatherosclerosis, immunomodulative, antitumor, antihyperglycemic, and hypolipidemic activities in in vitro and in vivo studies PMID: 29129054.
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