The Science
To better understand our Mulberries and how they are naturally healthy we have had them tested for some key parameters.
Initially the simplest test was for Anthocyanin content. This would give us a good feel for the antioxidant capacity of the fruit and allow for good comparison to other known products.
The anthocyanin content is what is driving the high colour in Mulberries and testing for anthocyanins on the 2016 whole berry sample returned an impressive 386 mg/100g. To put some context around this the Queen garnet plum has returned anthocyanin values up to 282mg/100g in literature published. Much literature has shown a very high correlation between anthocyanin levels and antioxidant levels in mulberry fruit.
To be able to quantify not only the antioxidant levels but also their antioxidant activity Mulberries were also supplied to researchers at the PIRSA Food Innovations centre. With the results as follows
| Analysis | |
| Moisture (% FW) | 89.63 |
| Ash (% DW) | 5.76 |
| Calorific values (J g-1 DW) | 16005 |
| Antioxidant content – Gallic acid equivalents (mg g-1 DW) | 77.07 |
| Total flavonoid – Quercetin equivalents (mg g-1 DW) | 18.92 |
| Anti-oxidant activity IC50 (mg mL-1) | 2.80 |
| Free Glucose (% DW) | 0.19 |
| Reducing sugar (% DW) | 56.09 |
| Pectin (% DW) | 53.33 |
| Total carbohydrates (% DW) | 70.01 |
| Protein (% DW) | 9.93 |
| Crude lipid (% DW) | 2.91 |
| Alpha- carotene (µg g-1 DW) | 0.00 |
| Beta – carotene (µg g-1 DW) | 5.63 |
| Chl a (µg g-1 DW) | 51.59 |
| Chl b (µg g-1 DW) | 23.65 |
| Lutein (µg g-1 DW) | 10.93 |
| Neoxanthin (µg g-1 DW) | 1.78 |
| Violaxanthin (µg g-1 DW) | 0.85 |
| Zeaxanthin (µg g-1 DW) | 0.49 |
Points to note in the results are not only the very high Antioxidant content 77 mg GAE /g dry weight but also its antioxidant activity (ic50) of just 2.8 mg/mL. Not only is there a lot of antioxidants in the fruit but they are very bio active. IC 50 results below 5 are considered to show a very high antioxidant activity.
Other phytochemicals of benefits that are not in this analysis but are in other literature on Mulberries is Resveratrol the anticancer agent found in red wine and a potent alpha glycosidase inhibitor known as DNJ (1-deoxynojiramycin). More common in the leaves of the Mulberry tree, DNJ act by reducing the ability of the body to absorb sugars and hence it has the potential to aid the management of diabetes.