Mulberry polyphenols (ABRU) promote bone formation and alleviate bone loss via dual regulation of bone metabolism.
Xue L, Li J, Sun L, Liu T, Lam B
Traditional Medicine Validation
Mulberries growing in your backyard or at the farmers market may contain compounds that rival pharmaceutical approaches to preventing osteoporosis — a finding that reframes this common fruit as more than just a sweet snack.
Researchers took a concentrated mixture of the natural compounds found in mulberry fruit and tested whether it could help keep bones strong. In lab dishes, it made bone-building cells work twice as hard and cut bone-destroying cell activity in half. When given to aging mice, it noticeably improved bone density and structure — suggesting that eating mulberries could one day be part of a natural strategy for preventing bone loss as we age.
Key Findings
Mulberry polyphenol extract doubled osteoblast (bone-building cell) proliferation within 24 hours and increased mineralization two-fold after 14 days in lab experiments.
In aging mice, oral mulberry extract improved bone mineral density by ~20%, increased trabecular bone area by 24.5%, and reduced bone-dissolving cell count by 58.4%.
The mechanism works through the PPARG/SOST signaling axis: mulberry compounds suppress a gene (PPARG) that normally inhibits bone formation, which in turn activates the Wnt pathway to promote bone growth.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A standardized extract of mulberry polyphenols (ABRU) both stimulates bone-building cells and suppresses bone-dissolving cells, improving bone density by ~20% in an aging mouse model. This is the first study to scientifically validate the traditional Chinese medicine claim that mulberry 'strengthens bones and muscles.'
Abstract Preview
Mulberry (Morus alba L.) has a longstanding history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is recorded in the classic Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu) that mulberry possesse...
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