EXTRACTION OF MULBERRY FLAVONOIDS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL USES

Mulberry tree, a plant of the family of Moraceae and genus Morus, has been widely cultivated to feed silkworm for the production of silk. Until the past century, in Italy the mulberry cultivation was ruled by regulations which forbade to cut down this plant. But, after the coming in the market of the synthetic textile fibres, the silk production diminished and so the cultivation of mulberry was almost forgotten. At present, it can be found as ornamental or wild plant in marginal areas. Nevertheless, other utilizations, beyond silkworm feeding, are possible for mulberry. For example, leaves could be used for the preparation of protein concentrates for animal or human nutrition and for extracting compounds with either pharmaceutical activity or textile fibres colouring ability. This paper describes experiments carried out for the extraction of flavonoids from mulberry, the major responsible compounds for the claimed therapeutic benefits ascribed to mulberry in the folk medicine, in order to study if the recovery of such substances, together with other products, can make suitable the growing, management and processing of mulberry and so allow the conservation of this historical plant