The Mulberry Tree in Chinese Herbology
One of the most useful plants in Chinese herbal medicine is the white mulberry plant, Morus alba. The Chinese have used this plant’s leaves for centuries as the food source for raising silkworms. Chinese medical practitioners use several parts of this plant to treat various health conditions. The Chinese word for the mulberry plant is sang. The plant parts used in Chinese herbology include the fruit (sang shen), leaves (sang ye), and the root bark (sang bai pi). Additionally, the silkworm fecal matter (can sha) created after the worms have eaten mulberry leaves is an important medicinal derived from this plant. Each of the plant parts has unique characteristics and diverse therapeutic uses.
Mulberry fruit is sweet, gentle, and a cooling blood tonic that enhances the nourishing, cooling, and moistening (Yin) aspects of the liver and kidneys. Chinese medicine utilizes this herb to treat deficient conditions such as anemia, dry constipation, and the premature graying of hair. The ability for this fruit to treat deficient conditions may be due to the fact that it contains significant amounts of vitamin A, B1, B2, C, protein, lipids, and anthocyanins. According to Subhuti Dharmananda, president of the Institute for Traditional Medicine, the high levels of anthocyanins, “may improve blood circulation and other body functions to alleviate many symptoms that arise under deficiency conditions.” In China today, morus fruit is bottled as a beverage and marketed as a tonic that improves the immune system, enhances general health, and promotes longevity.
Morus leaves are sweet and cooling like the fruit, but also have a bitter flavor. The leaves enter the liver and lung meridians where the cooling and bitter properties remove externally contracted heat conditions (as occurring with cold or flu) with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, headache, sore-watery eyes and cough. Additionally, mulberry leaves are used to stop bleeding and are often combined with other herbs to treat patients who are vomiting blood or for women who have abnormal menstrual bleeding. Western studies have shown that decoctions made from fresh mulberry leaf can inhibit several bacteria including Staphyloccocus aureus, Escherichi coli, and hemolytic streptococcus. New research shows that mulberry leaf extracts may play a role in the management and treatment of diabetes.
Similar to the leaves of this plant, morus root bark’s sweet and cold properties enter the lung meridian. The difference between morus leaves and the root bark is that the latter is indicated for coughs that have hot phlegm. In Chinese medicine, hot phlegm occurs when the body’s physiological fluids in the Lung are heated and congealed in reaction to a pathogen. The phlegm can then turn white, yellow, green, or even gray depending on the severity of the heat. Morus root bark has the ability to help the body transform the pathological phlegm with a downward directing function which settles coughs, wheezing, and facilitates urination to eliminate excess fluid. In fact, this herb is commonly used for the treatment of edema especially when it is around the eyes. According to John Chen, author of Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology, the water and alcohol extracts of morus root bark “have a marked diuretic effect by increasing the excretion of water, sodium chloride, and potassium.” Like the leaf of this plant, the root bark also has antibacterial properties and has been found to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Baccillus dysenteriae.
Because of its sweet, acrid, and warm qualities, the silkworm fecal matter is effective for the treatment of pain in the extremities and abdomen caused by wind and dampness. Chinese medicine considers this type of pain in the extremities as Wind- Dampness Painful Obstructive Syndrome. Wind refers to the tight or pulling nature of the pain (like a spasm) and the dampness to the swelling in the joints which is often exacerbated in damp environments. The silkworm’s fecal matter warm quality is able to dry the damp obstruction and the acrid quality helps increase the blood flow to eliminate muscle aches and pain.
Believe it or not, silkworm fecal matter is also used in Chinese medicine to harmonize the stomach. Its sweet flavor harmonizes the stomach and the warm and pungent properties help eliminate any fluids that may be obstructing the normal flow and function of the stomach. For these reasons this substance can stop abdominal cramping and transform the dampness that is inherent in diarrhea and vomiting. Finally, this substance is commonly used to treat itchy skin and eczema as the acrid and warm properties help bring blood to the skin, dry the secretions, and promote healing.
Morus albae is a unique plant in Chinese herbal medicine. This plant’s fruit, leaves, root bark, and the silkworm fecal matter created from the leaves all have unique characteristics. They have been used effectively for centuries and currently are important herbs in Chinese medicine. Morus albae’s diverse therapeutic ability makes this a remarkable plant in the Chinese pharmacopeia.
Sources:
Chen J., Chen, T. Chinese Herbal Medicine and Pharmacology. City of Industry, CA: Art of Medicine Press, 2001.
Bensky, D., Clavey,S., Stöger,E. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica. Seattle, Washington: Eastland Press, 2004.
Dharmananda, Subhuti, Ph.D., Fruit as Medicine. Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, 2004.
