Mulberry leaf powder prevents atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Mulberry is commonly used to feed silkworms. Here we examined whether a dietary intake of mulberry leaf (ML) could affect atherogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Apolipoprotein E-deficient mice were fed either normal chow (control group) or a diet containing 1% ML powder (ML group) from 6 weeks of age. The mice were sacrificed after 12 weeks. The susceptibility of plasma lipoprotein to oxidation was assessed using diene formation. A significant increase in the lag time of lipoprotein oxidation was detected in the ML group compared with the control group. Furthermore, the ML group showed a 40% reduction in atherosclerotic lesion size in the aortae compared with the control. We also examined the direct anti-oxidative activity of ML in vitro. Aqueous extract of ML had a strong scavenging effect on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and inhibited lipoprotein oxidation. These results confirm that ML contains anti-oxidative substances that might help prevent atherosclerosis.