Morus polysaccharides: from purification and structural properties to pharmaceutical and nano applications

The mulberry tree, a Morus genus plant from the Moraceae family, is rich in polysaccharides. An increasing number of studies have indicated that Morus polysaccharides possess a variety of biological activities. In this review, we provide a detailed summary on the recent research advances in the extraction, purification, structural properties, and biological activity of Morus polysaccharides over the past decade, with a focus on comparing the monosaccharide composition and activity differences between polysaccharides from different mulberry species. Notably, the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of Morus nigra L. polysaccharides are similar to those of the most widely studied Morus alba L. polysaccharides. In addition, we found that Morus polysaccharide nanoparticles have great potential in the biomedical field.