Health benefits of mulberry. Useful properties of berries and mulberry leaves

Botanical characteristics of mulberries

Mulberry is a plant of the mulberry family, a deciduous tree with alternate, simple, lobed, serrated leaves along the edge. The flowers are sessile, with ears in the form of axils, reminiscent of blackberries. Flowers appear in May-June, they are barely visible in the dense foliage. The fruit is complex, fleshy, white, red or dark purple in color, has a pleasant, aromatic smell and sweet taste. Persia is the birthplace of mulberry. Different types of mulberry are common in Asia, Africa, North America, Russia, and Sakhalin.

The plant can be seen on the island of Moneron, on the Kuril Islands, in Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, European countries. In the first years of life, the tree grows very quickly, as it grows older, growth slows down, the height of an adult plant is from 10 to 15 meters. White mulberry leaves are most often used to feed silkworm larvae. In the south of Russia, in Ukraine, two types of mulberry are cultivated - white and black. Wood is a valuable material: due to its high strength, elasticity, lightness of wood, it is suitable for the production of musical instruments, used in cooperage and carpentry.

Useful properties of mulberry

The biochemical processes of the body are normalized due to the microelements absorbed by the use of tasty and healthy berries, such as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, selenium. Fatty oil was found in the seeds of the plant. Although mulberry fruits are sweet in taste, in terms of calories, they can be an excellent ingredient in the diet for those who want to become slim. The calorie content of mulberry is about 49 kcal per 100 g. All parts of the tree are used for treatment - roots, bark, leaves and fruits. Raw mulberry is an excellent natural antiseptic, can be used as an anti-inflammatory, expectorant, diuretic, diaphoretic, astringent.

Application of mulberry

Mulberry has a number of advantages. It is used in the production of sugar, citric acid and vinegar. In folk medicine, this unique plant can bring tangible benefits in the treatment of many diseases. Berries, fully ripe, are an excellent laxative, suitable for constipation. Green fruits are used for diarrhea. Juice, diluted with boiled water, is used for rinsing the mouth with throat diseases. An infusion of bark and mulberries is effective for acute respiratory infections, bronchial.

As a diuretic, decoctions of the bark and roots are used for. Leaves insist and take infusions for fever to reduce the temperature. The use of berries in large quantities is recommended for heart disease and myocardial dystrophy - 300 g 4 times a day for a month is enough to eliminate the symptoms of such serious diseases. A healing powder is made from the bark, if you mix it with oil, you get a remedy for healing wounds, cuts, ulcers. This ointment quickly eliminates bruises.

Ointment recipe: 750 grams of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of black mulberry bark or root powder, mix until smooth.

Decoction of mulberry branches: 3-4 pieces of young branches, cut into 2-3 cm and dried in the shade, pour two glasses of water, boil for 10 minutes, leave for 2 hours and take 1/4 cup a day, divided into equal portions. The course of treatment is from 3 to 4 weeks, a break is 2 weeks.

mulberry

Mulberry berries are tender, unsuitable for long-term fresh storage. They differ in color. Red mulberries are native to North America and have a strong aroma and sweet and sour taste. It is useful for cleansing the blood, in diseases of the liver. Black mulberry is also endowed with a magnificent attractive aroma and the same taste. The white berries of the mulberry, which is native to East Asia, are characterized by a weaker concentration of smell and a sweet taste.

Berries are good to take in diseases of the nervous system. Juicy, fleshy mulberry is used to make compotes, jams. Fruits are used fresh, dried and canned for biliary dyskinesia, edema that occurs with heart and kidney problems, for the prevention of beriberi, with inflammatory processes of various origins.

Tincture of berries: it is necessary to knead 2 tablespoons of berries, pour 250 grams of boiling water, leave for 4 hours, strain. It is recommended to take the remedy 4 times a day for 1/2 cup.

Mulberry stimulates metabolic processes and promotes tissue regeneration in case of eye and skin problems. Fresh berries are useful for coronary disease, arrhythmias,.

Mulberry cultivation

Mulberry is easy to grow, unpretentiousness allows you to plant it on any soil. The plant loves moderate watering and soil mulching. The tree tolerates pruning well, this leads to the fact that the crown becomes more dense and spherical in shape. In winter, no shelter is required, the mulberry staunchly withstands frost. In summer, it calmly withstands drought. Mulberry is propagated by cuttings, seeds or separation of offspring from the mother plant.

mulberry leaves

Mulberry leaves are a favorite delicacy of the mulberry silkworm, an excellent raw material for decoctions and infusions recommended for gastrointestinal problems, inflammation of the lungs and bronchi. They are used for gargling. Mulberry leaf tincture is used to reduce diabetes, to lower blood pressure.

Infusion of leaves and fruits: 2 tablespoons of leaves and crushed mulberry berries are required to be poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for 4-5 hours. 60 grams of infusion should be consumed in mild diabetes 3-4 times a day before or after meals.

Useful remedies are obtained from mulberry leaves, the treatment of which is indicated for rheumatism, skin tuberculosis,.

Mulberry varieties

Professional gardeners have bred fruit, fodder and ornamental varieties of mulberries. There are about 400 plant varieties in the world. Fruit varieties of white and black mulberries: "Snow White", "Dina", "Mashenka", "Nadiya", "Black-browed". Forage varieties: "Ukrainian 5", "Ukrainian 6", "Ukrainian 7", "Slobozhanskaya 1", "Merefenskaya". Ornamental varieties: Aurea, Laciniata, Globosa, Pendula, Pyramidalis.

Mulberry root

Mulberry roots can be used to treat various organ pathologies and dysfunctions of the human body systems.

Infusion of root bark: one teaspoon of raw materials must be steamed for two hours in one glass of boiled water. After that, the infusion should be filtered and taken orally one tablespoon 3 times a day for bronchial asthma, bronchitis, hypertension. This infusion eliminates pain in the stomach and intestines.

Mulberry seeds

Mulberries are grown from seeds for rootstocks and for breeding purposes. Usually white mulberry seeds are used. Seeds are isolated by rubbing the fruit in water: they settle to the bottom. Then they are washed several times and dried. You can also crush the berries on paper, the pulp dries out, the seeds are scraped off. Seeds are sown in early spring in sunny areas, having previously stratified or soaked in water for several days.

The depth for sowing should be 0.5–1 cm. The landing site is covered with a film until the first shoots. Seedlings need to be watered frequently or sprayed with a spray bottle. When they get stronger, about the middle of July, fertilizer with nitrate is applied. Only two-year-old seedlings can be transplanted to their permanent place.

Mulberry syrup

Black mulberry is used to prepare a syrup that has an anti-inflammatory effect in case of stomatitis, laryngitis. It can be used to treat lichen. It has astringent and sedative properties. Its hemostatic properties help with postpartum and uterine bleeding. This syrup strengthens the body with hives and.

Syrup recipe: the juice of mulberries is evaporated to the consistency of a thick syrup by about a third of the volume.

After the juice is squeezed out, the resulting pulp is left to ferment. The resulting mass is used for treatment and neuralgia, applied externally.

Mulberry bark

Mulberry bark has the ability to reduce inflammation, helps with dysentery. taking a decoction is recommended for tumors in the oral cavity. The bark is harvested during the period of swelling of the kidneys, at which time there is an intensive movement of juices. Cut raw materials are dried for two days in the sun, dried in the shade and stored in cotton bags.

Bark tincture: 1 teaspoon of crushed root bark should be scalded with boiling water and taken in a tablespoon three times a day for patients with bronchitis, bronchial asthma and hypertension.

white mulberry

Sweet and slightly sour in taste, white mulberries are an excellent dietary product with a low calorie content. Leaves, fruits, dry bark can be used for infusions and decoctions; after drying, all useful properties are preserved. Fortified tea is obtained from the leaves, the action of which is useful for.

White mulberry has a beneficial effect on the heart, liver.

Mulberry black

Black mulberry is cultivated in Ukraine and in the southern regions of Russia as a fruit tree. This type of mulberry comes from Iran, Afghanistan, India, where the beneficial properties of this plant have long been known. Black mulberry is also cultivated to be used as food for silkworm larvae. Fragrant fruit juice quenches thirst, increases sweating during colds.

Contraindications to the use of mulberry

It is not recommended to drink cold water after taking fresh mulberry fruits - this can cause indigestion, bloating. Diabetics and hypertensive patients should not eat berries in large quantities due to the fact that blood sugar levels and blood pressure may increase.

Expert editor: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna| Phytotherapist

Education: A diploma in the specialty "Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the University named after N. I. Pirogov (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Moscow University of Peoples' Friendship (2008).

Mulberry (lat. Morus) - small fleshy fruits that are shaped like 2-3 cm drupes. The berries are juicy, sweet and have a pleasant aroma. Mulberry, depending on the variety, can vary in color from red to dark purple, almost black, and from white to pink. The mulberry tree bears fruit annually and is very abundant. The yield of one tree can be more than 200 kg. The first fruits begin to ripen in mid-July. The main ripening period comes at the end of July beginning of August.

Species and distribution

There are about 16 species of mulberry tree, which are common in the territories of subtropical and temperate climatic zones. Mulberry grows well in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Armenia and other countries of Asia, Africa and North America. It is believed that the distribution of black mulberry came from Southwest Asia, and white - from China. The history of the use of mulberry leaves for growing silkworms goes back over 4 thousand years. The fruits were used even before the events described in the Bible.

Use and consumption

Because Mulberry is a perishable and easily damaged product, it is best to use it freshly picked. For the same reason, fruits are not transported over long distances. In the refrigerator, fresh mulberry can be stored in polyethylene for no more than 3 days. To increase the shelf life, mulberries are frozen or dried. In this case, only the most ripe fruits are used. Mulberries should be dried in two stages: first in a well-ventilated sunny place (1-2 weeks), and then in the oven at a temperature of 30-40 ° C for an hour.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Useful properties of mulberry

Composition and presence of nutrients

Mulberry has a large amount of vitamins (, B1-B6, B9,,,), microelements (manganese, iron, zinc, copper, selenium) and macronutrients (calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus). Mulberry contains a lot of potassium, the lack of which in the body can lead to hypokalemia. Therefore, doctors prescribe mulberry extracts in case of potassium metabolism disorders.

Application and useful properties

It is also recommended to use mulberry for people with chronic swelling associated with disorders of the heart (myocardial dystrophy, defects of varying severity) and kidneys. It has bile, sweat and diuretic action and anti-inflammatory effect. Regular intake of mulberries reduces shortness of breath, pain in the heart and normalizes its rhythm. With anemia and metabolic disorders, you should eat mulberries in such quantities for two weeks "until the eyes can no longer see it."

From the gastrointestinal tract, mulberry acts in two ways. When using unripe fruits, the stool is attached, therefore it is recommended for diarrhea, and ripe fruits, on the contrary, are liquefied, therefore, it is used for constipation.

A mixture of white mulberry (1 kg) and white honey (200 g) will help restore male strength and get rid of prostatitis. Grind the ingredients thoroughly. Store the mixture in a sealed container in the refrigerator on the door or in the common section. Take 1 dessert spoon once a day at bedtime.

Juice and tinctures

Mulberry juice and infusion have bactericidal and antiseptic effects. They are used to rinse the mouth with stomatitis, periodontal disease, ulcers and throat diseases. To prepare the infusion, crushed black mulberry (2 tablespoons) is used. It is poured with boiling water (200 g) and infused for 4 hours. Rinsing should be done at least 4 times a day.

For nervous disorders caused by overwork and accompanied by insomnia, it is recommended to make a mulberry infusion. To do this, boil mulberries (1 kg) in water (500 ml) over low heat for 30 minutes. The mass should acquire a viscous structure. Honey (300 g) is also added there, heated to 80 ° C and removed from heat. Ready tincture should be taken in 1 tsp. 2-3 times during the second half of the day.

A tree from the mulberry family. It appeared on the territory of our country thanks to Peter the Great, who brought it from the states of Southwest Asia. Persia is considered the official homeland of the mulberry tree. In Afghanistan and Iran, it is considered a "family" tree and is planted in almost every yard. Now culture can be found in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

The fruits of black mulberry were consumed long before the birth of Christ. According to legend, the mulberry tree still grows in the city of Jericho, in the shade of which Jesus took refuge.

Mulberry grows very quickly at first, but this process stops with age. The standard height of the culture is 10-15 m, dwarf varieties grow up to 3 m. Mulberry is a long-lived tree. The duration of his life is about two hundred years, and under good conditions - up to five hundred. To date, there are about sixteen species and four hundred varieties of mulberry.

Growing mulberries is easy. It tolerates both winter frosts and summer drought. Grows in almost any soil. With pruning, you can achieve a denser and more spherical crown.

The tree bears fruit annually and quite abundantly. Mulberries are perishable products and do not tolerate transportation, especially over long distances. In a plastic bag in the refrigerator, without loss of taste and appearance, they can be stored for three days. To extend this period, the fruits can be frozen or dried.

Composition of berries

Mulberry fruits have an almost record high content of potassium and will be especially needed by people who suffer from a lack of this element. In addition, the berries are rich in vitamins E, A, K, C, as well as B vitamins. Among the trace elements are manganese, selenium, copper, iron and zinc, and among the macronutrients - magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and sodium.

Black mulberry: useful properties

Mulberry fruits are considered medicinal. Berries are very useful for the digestive tract. Unripe - they have an astringent taste and are able to remove heartburn, and ripe ones are a wonderful disinfectant for food intoxication. Overripe mulberry can be used as a laxative. In addition, ripe fruits are often used as a diuretic. Berries are also used for recovery in the postoperative period and during heavy physical exertion.

Due to the presence of B vitamins, which have a good effect on the nervous system, mulberry normalizes sleep and calms in stressful situations. Magnesium and potassium in the composition of the berries help the processes of hematopoiesis. Taking several glasses a day can stabilize hemoglobin levels. And due to the fact that 100 g of berries contain only 43 to 52 kcal, they can be eaten even during diets.

Mulberry will be useful for people suffering from chronic swelling due to malfunctioning of the kidneys or heart.

Contraindications

It is not recommended to use low-quality berries - this can adversely affect digestion. In addition, mulberry berries absorb heavy metal salts, so the use of fruits growing in unfavorable environmental conditions is not recommended. You should also not drink mulberry or berry juice along with other berry juices, as this can cause fermentation. The best option is to take them thirty minutes before meals, on an empty stomach.

Mulberries, in rare cases, can cause allergies. Mulberry fruits should be taken with caution in hypertensive patients, especially in hot weather, as their use can lead to increased pressure. Due to its sweetness (about 20% of sugars), mulberry fruits are not consumed in diabetes.

Application

Mulberry fruits are used as food and dye, and wood, due to its lightness and strength, is used for the production of musical instruments. Sugar and vinegar are extracted from the fruits of the Black Mulberry. Berries can be consumed freshly picked, or can be processed into soft drinks, wines, and mulberry vodka. The fruits are also great for making jams, jellies and syrups, they can be added to pastries, marshmallows and sherbets. In some countries, mulberry berries are used to make bread.

Black mulberry: medicinal properties

For medical purposes, the bark, branches, roots, fruits and leaves are used. A tincture of the bark or root is used as a general tonic, as well as for bronchitis, asthma and hypertension. A mixture of vegetable oil and crushed bark wonderfully treats burns, eczema, festering wounds, psoriasis and dermatitis. A decoction of the leaves is often used as an adjuvant in the treatment of diabetes, used for fever, and as an antipyretic.

The juice of the berries is used to gargle the throat and mouth. Daily consumption of a large number of berries per day (300 g, four times a day) helps in the treatment of myocardial dystrophy and removes its symptoms. Berries stimulate tissue regeneration, including on the organs of vision.

Mulberry (Moraceae) – a plant belonging to the genus Mulberry (popularly called "mulberry tree", the tree reaches a height of up to 20 meters). This genus includes more than 17 subspecies of plants, the small homeland of which is Persia.

Recognizing the mulberry tree is easy enough: it has toothed leaves that resemble blades and berries that look like blackberries. This plant, on our territory, will grow in two forms: with white berries and with almost black ones. The fruits of the mulberry tree are quite fleshy and large.

We will talk about mulberry and its properties in this article, but you need to start with the most pleasant - with the taste of the mulberry tree. Mulberry is moderately sweet and sour and not at all tart, as they often say about it. It is often used in the preparation of various jellies, syrups and impregnations for baking.

Also, mulberries, due to their taste, are in perfect harmony with meat dishes (used as a sauce) and are even used in the preparation of soups, but we will talk about this later.

The health benefits of mulberries mainly come from the berries, although the bark and leaves are also widely used in traditional medicine, pharmacology, and cosmetics.

Mulberry fruits contain in their composition a lot of sugar, glucose, fructose, and therefore not only cheer up, but also contribute to better digestion of food and speed up metabolism.

Also, mulberry has properties that help strengthen bones, teeth, nails and hair, due to the presence of potassium, magnesium and calcium in the composition.

Did you know? Mulberry essential oil is one of the most expensive in the cosmetic industry.

Many botanists insist that the mulberry has not only useful properties, but also contraindications, which we will talk about later. But, despite the fact that opinions differ, the taste of mulberry pleases us and reminds us of childhood.

What are the benefits of mulberry leaves

Mulberry, or rather the mulberry leaf and its medicinal properties, are quite popular among fans of traditional medicine. However, if you stumbled upon mulberry tea in a pharmacy, you should know not only about its benefits, but also about the harm that it can do to your health.

Most herbalists know mulberry as a good remedy in the fight against diabetes, as well as in the treatment of liver and kidney problems, cardiovascular insufficiency and for lowering blood pressure (heart).

But, it is worth noting that not a single herbalist recommends using these fruits as the only true method in the treatment of the above diseases.

Mulberry also has beneficial properties for treating sore throats during sore throats and is used as an expectorant.

Some herbalists also talk about the fact that mulberry is a very strong antiseptic, and treating wounds with its decoction allows you to achieve better results than when using alcohol tinctures.

Important!Sometimes, ophthalmologists advise mulberry berries for washing the eyes, but you can use this method only after you make sure that you are not allergic to this plant.

The use of mulberry bark in folk medicine

The benefits of tree bark are directly related to the roots of mulberries, their healing properties. Most often, herbalists and healers use the roots to prepare decoctions for shortness of breath, cough, to reduce fever, remove toxins and excess fluid from the body.

The bark of the mulberry tree, in ancient times, was used to prepare a wound healing agent. Now, many cardiologists are turning to mulberry bark-based products to treat hypertension.

However, mulberry has not only medicinal properties. For example, in China, due to its resistance to temperature fluctuations, mulberry bark was used to make paper.

Also, this tree helped to "cultivate" the human society of Ancient China, becoming one of the most popular materials for the manufacture of stringed musical instruments.

Did you know? From the bark of the mulberry, threads are extracted, which are used to make strings for stringed instruments.

How to prepare medicinal raw materials

It is necessary to start harvesting medicinal raw materials from berries, bark and leaves of mulberry during the flowering period, or the full ripening of the fruit. Fresh berries and leaves contain much more useful elements and are processed better.

The most difficult thing is to dry the berries of the mulberry tree, so this process should be given special attention. It is better to dry the berries in the oven, or on the stove / fireplace, since a lot of yeast fungi live on the seedlings of the plant, which, with the natural method of drying berries, appear on the second day and begin fermentation.

Important! If you still have fermented berries, you can use them as a cough tincture and in the treatment of viral diseases. In Central Asia, mulberry vodka is made from such “spoiled” berries.

Harvesting raw materials from mulberry leaves is not a dusty occupation and does not require special conditions. You can dry the leaves in any way you like.

mulberry roots they retain their medicinal properties better if they are harvested in the fall, when the tree enters the “sleep and rest” phase. The root is usually dried and, like mulberries, is vacuum-packed.

Mulberry Recipes

An excellent occasion to gather your household at the same table is tea with mulberry jam. Do not think that in the form of jam, mulberry will lose its beneficial properties. The recipe for making mulberry jam is very simple and fast enough. All you need is:

Did you know? In order for the berries in your jam to retain their shape, stir it counterclockwise.

Very tasty, mulberry is obtained in sugar syrup. The cooking process is a little laborious, but the result is worth it.

So, in order to cook mulberries in sugar syrup, we need berries washed and passed through a meat grinder (a blender will not work, as you can overdo it), which we fill with sugar syrup (you can do it yourself: 1.2 kilograms of sugar per 300 grams of water, or buy ready-made syrup in the store).

The hot mixture is laid out in jars, which are covered with parchment paper soaked in alcohol (the diameter of a circle of paper should be equal to the diameter of the jar), and then tightly closed with a lid.

Well, we talked about “tasty” recipes, now we can discuss the “usefulness” of mulberry recipes, which will only enhance its properties.

So, the first and most common recipe for the preparation of a medicinal preparation from mulberry: pour 2 teaspoons of (dry!) ​​mulberry leaves with a glass of water.

This remedy will help you with a cold (good for gargling), it is also a diuretic and will help remove all the toxins from your body.