**5.4 Anti- inflammatory**

In some particular tissues presence of some microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi and their circulation in blood can cause complex vascular biological problems known as inflammation. If within a certain time period it is not diagnosed properly then it can cause severe health complications and also can cause some acute chronic diseases such as- cardiovascular disease, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Leaf extract of *M. alba* helps to reduce production of cytokine and proinflammatory mediators by nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) activation suppression [10]. Twigs and root bark of mulberry consists maclurin, morin, resveratrol and isoquercitrin and the fruits of mulberry contains other essential fatty acids like palmitic, linoleic and oleic acids which are also important for inflammatory responses [14]. Stem extract of *M. alba* can inhibit NO production by suppressing both Inos mRNA and protein which shows an inflammatory effect. Anthocyanin present in the fruits of *M. nigra* shows an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine which is experimentally proven in mice. Root extract of *M. alba* is potential anti-histamine and anti-allergic natural drug resource as it successfully inhibits the histamine release and systemic allergic reaction [2].

*Mulberry as a Valuable Resource for Food and Pharmaceutical Industries: A Review DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104631*

#### **5.5 Anti-oxidant**

Different parts of mulberry consists variety of phytochemicals that have the potential of anti-oxidant properties. Moracin available in mulberry fruits help to prevent oxidative stress [14]. Fruit extract of *M. alba* showed radical-scavenging activities against anion radicals and superoxide that increases the level of antioxidants [16]. Moracin which can also be extracted from the leaves of *M. alba* shows better antioxidant activity better than other anti-oxidants like resveratrol. Stem of *M. alba* increase NO scavenging and superoxide activity. Fruits of *M. nigra* show the strongest protective effect against H2O2-induced oxidative injury in PC12 cells [2].

#### **5.6 Anti-microbial**

Anti-microbial property of mulberry is also well known. The bark of *M. mesozygia* used for the treatment of micro-organism associated infections [41]. Flavonoids isolated from *M. alba* shows positive response in the treatment of antiviral and antifungal diseases [14]. Hydro-methanolic stem bark extract of *M. alba* shows antimicrobial activity against *Enterococcus faecalis*, *Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus* and *Salmonella typhimurium* [42–44]. Similarly, ethanolic extract of *M. nigra* prevent the growth of *Staphylococcus epidermidis*, and *Propionibacterium acnes.* Fruits of *M. alba* contain the anti-bacterial compound Morin which strongly inhibits *Streptococcus mutans*. The juice of *M. nigra* contain anti-microbial properties against *Bacillus spizizenii* and *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*. Vinegar produced from *M. alba* shows potential antimicrobial action against *Erwinia carotovora, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus* and anti-fungal activities against *Candida albicans* [2].

#### **5.7 Neurodegenerative actions**

For treating cognitive disorders and different types of neuronal dysfunction medicinal plants play an important role and mulberry is one of the most prominent among them. Polyphenolics, alkaloids found in *M. alba* can improve cognitive function and delay in neural-degeneration [45]. Mulberry fruits' lycophilised ethanolic extract can protect against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in neural cells by the enhancement of the antioxidant enzymes production. In mulberry fruit rutin, quercetin anthocyanins are found present which have an impact on Parkinson's disease (PD) by interfering MPTP-induced dopaminergic neuronal damage and bradykinesia [2, 45].

#### **5.8 Hepatoprotective**

A few bioactive compounds obtained from the twigs of *M. mesozygia* esspecially shows the hepatoprotective activities. From *M. indica* a glycoprotein (MIL) is purified which protects against CC14 induced liver damage. In CC14 treated mice MIL found decreasing the activity of Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). *M. alba* extract found effective in decreasing the activity gastric mucosal injury in rats [14].

#### **5.9 Activity against skin problem due to anti-tyrosinase property**

Use of tyrosinase inhibitors is getting huge importance in the cosmetic industry due to their skin-whitening effects. Tyrosinase can be used as a whitening agent as it is a copper-containing primary regulatory multifunctional enzyme that is responsible for the biosynthesis of melanin and determines the color of the skin. Deposition of excessive melanin causes numerous dermatological disorders, such as melasma and age spots [48]. Twigs and roots of mulberry can be utilized as natural agents to react against the tyrosinase activity in cosmetics [49]. In a recent experiment, *M. alba* fruit ethanolic extract has been utilized to formulate an emulsion-based cream to observe its clinical effect on skin melanin, moisture content and erythema for eight weeks. The formulated cream shown significant decrease in melanin content without causing any sort of skin irritation [50]. Betulinic acid (C30H48O3) which has been successfully isolated from *M. alba* (hexane extract of stem and root bark) can be utilized as a whitening agent owing to its tyrosinase inhibitory activity [51]. Ethanolic extract of *M. nigra* shows excellent tyrosinase inhibition activity and also can be exploited for the formulation of peel-off mask and for acne treatment [44, 45]. Mulberries can help to reduce skin problems such as spots and blemishes appears with age and also provides healthier and shiny appearance to skin and hair. From the above discussion, it is clear that mulberry exhibits remarkable tyrosinase inhibition activity, hence can be included as a necessary component of cosmetic products and de-pigmentation agents for the treatment of disorders like hyper-pigmentation.
