https://yoo.rs/maurice.godefridi/blog/moerbei-wit-en-zwart-1464377472.html?Ysid=14379
De zwarte moerbei (Morus nigra) wordt reeds sinds duizenden jaren in kuituur gebracht. Vanuit zijn natuurlijk oorsprongsgebied Iran werd hij, samen met zijn soortgenoot de witte moerbei (Morus alba) over de vier windstreken verspreid. Zo bereikte hij tijdens de middeleeuwen onze streken.
Het in kultuur brengen gebeurde voornamelijk voor de bloeiende zijderupsteelt. Zijderupsen voeden zich met de bladeren van moerbeien. Hoewel ze bovenal het blad van de witte moerbei verkiezen, weten ze ook het zwarte moerbeiblad te waarderen. Vooral in Frankrijk werden dan ook nogal wat zwarte moerbeien aangeplant ten behoeve van de zijdekultuur.
Ondanks zijn vrij langzame groei is de moerbei een gemakkelijk te telen boom. De stammen zien ermeestal gedrongen uit. Ze hebben een donkeroranje tot roodachtig bruine schors die fijn gegroefd en met knobbels bezet is. De kroon is laag en breed en bestaat uit een aantal kronkelige takken die ontspruiten uit een lage stam. Oude bomen durven wel eens overhangen. In extreme gevallen gaat de stam zich neerleggen. Een voorbeeld daarvan is te zien in de toontuinen te Hoegaarden. Dodoens adviseerde al 'om deze bomen voort te telen door zijn wortelspruiten of van afleggers, hoewel ze ook van zaad aangewonnen worden maar hebben dan meer jaren nodig om vruchten voort te brengen'.
Bij alle vertegenwoordigers van de Moraceae, dus ook bij de moerbei, bevat de stam een wit melksap waar latex uit getrokken wordt. Het blad is 8 à 14 cm lang en bezit een forse steel. Het heeft de vorm van een hart met een duidelijk gepunte top. Het bladoppervlak is behaard terwijl de rand grof gezaagd is. De moerbei levert ei- of bolvormige, op frambozen lijkende steenvruchten die in groepjes verenigd staan. Ze zijn groen in de zomer, verkleuren later oranjerood om tenslotte, vlak vóór het afvallen, donkerrood-zwart te worden. Op dat moment zijn de zoete, eetbare vruchten op hun best. Morsen met moerbessen kunnen onuitwisbare vlekken veroorzaken.
Oude recepturen
Oude recepturen blijven interessant, we ontdekken oude toepassingen die mogelijk ook nu nuttig kunnen zijn of we kunnen eens goed lachen met de vroegere vreemde gebruiken. Dodoens op gezag van Dioscorides adviseerde de schors van de wortel van de moerbei tegen tandpijn, samen met moerbeibladeren, kook dit tezamen op in wijnazijn zoveel als genoeg is en houd dit warm in de mond.
Tegen allerhande buikloop en overtollige maandstonden: Neem van gedroogde, onrijpe moerbeien een vierendeel lood en geef die klein gestampt met rode wijn in. Dodonaeus.
Tegen ontsteking en zwelling in de mond en hals: Gebruik hiertegen de siroop van moerbeibessen die als een likkepot of gorgelwater gemaakt zijn.
Tegen verstopping van de lever en milt en om de wormen af te jagen: Neem van de schors van de wortel van de moerbeiboom een lood, kook dit in water tot een mutsje nat en geef dit te drinken, hetzelfde maakt kamergang. Als het alleen in de mond gehouden wordt stilt het de tandpijn, Dioscorides, P. de Crescentius.
Literatuur
https://sites.google.com/site/kruidwis/planten-van-a-tot-z/morus-species moerbeiboom
http://www.integrativepractitioner.com/article_ektid14438.aspxde
Souza MM, Bittar M, Cechinel-Filho V, et al. Antinociceptive properties of morusin, a prenylflavonoid isolated from Morus nigra root bark. Z Naturforsch.[C.] 2000;55(3-4):256-260. Fu DX, Chen L, Hou AJ, et al. Constituents of Morus nigra. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs 2005;36.
The mulberry tree, a plant of the family Moraceae and the genus Morus , has been widely cultivated to feed silkworms. The leaves and the roots of M. alba have also been used in traditional medicine as a cathartic, analgesic, diuretic, antitussive, sedative, hypotensive, and antiphlogistic and for the treatment of edema. [2] The decoction of the leaves is used as a gargle for relief of inflammation of the throat. The plant contains flavonoids, coumarine, and stilbene, which have hepatoprotective and free radical scavenging activity. [3] The other uses of M. alba are as a hypoglycemic, [4] cardioprotective, [5] and neuroprotective agent. [6] The mulberry fruit has been used as a medicinal agent to nourish the blood and for the treatment of weakness, fatigue, anemia, and premature graying of hair. In addition, some phenolic compounds from M. alba have been reported to have antioxidant properties. A piperidine alkaloid and some glycoproteins were isolated from the bark and leaves, which had antidiabetic effects. [7]
Phytochemical reports on M. alba L. indicates that the plant contains flavonoids, tannins, triterpenes, anthocyanins, anthroquinones, phytosterols, sitosterols, benzofuran derivatives, morusimic acid, oleanolic acid, alkoloids, steroids, saponins, and phenolic compounds. [5],[8] A survey of the literature on M. alba revealed only a few pharmacological reports on the plant. No major investigative reports were found pertaining to its CNS activity; therefore, we undertook the present study to determine the anxiolytic potential of M. alba by using different animal models for anxiety based on exploratory behavior.
Despite the widespread traditional use of M. alba for treating various disorders, there are no reports of any scientific evaluation of its pharmacological effects. The present work demonstrated that the methanolic extract of M. alba had anxiolytic effects in mice in several behavioral parameters, like the hole-board, elevated plus-maze, open field, and light/dark paradigms. The anxiolytic activity of some agents have been assessed by using the hole-board test. [11] A significant increase in the exploratory head-dipping behavior was observed after treatment with 100 and 200 mg/kg of M. alba extract, thus reinforcing the hypothesis that it has anxiolytic-like activity.
The EPM is one of most popular animal tests for research on behavioral pharmacology of anxiety. It involves spontaneous or natural aversive stimuli, i.e., height, unprotected opening, and novelty. [15] Several plants that are used in folk medicine to diminish anxiety are reported to bring about an increase in the exploration of the open arms in the EPM test. [16] In EPM, naοve mice will normally prefer to spend much of their allotted time in the closed arms. This preference appears to reflect an aversion towards open arms that is generated by fear of open spaces. Drugs that increase open arm exploration are considered as anxiolytics and the reverse holds true for anxiogenics. [17] In our study, we observed that MAE (100 and 200 mg/kg) induced significant increases in the both the number of entries and time spent in the open arms. The number of entries and the time spent in the closed arms were reduced in the extract-treated group as compared to the control group. The results obtained in the open field test showed that MAE administration significantly increased rearing, assisted rearing, and number of squares traversed, which supports the anxiolytic-like activity of MAE.
The light and dark paradigm is based on the natural aversion of mice to brightly lit places. Anxiolytics reduce the natural aversion to light and increase the time spent in the lit compartment. In this model, compared to vehicle, MAE produced significant increase in the time spent in the lighted box and decrease in the time spent in the dark box, thus demonstrating its anxiolytic-like activity.
Locomotor activity is considered as an index of alertness, and a decrease indicates a sedative effect. [16] The extract was able to induce a motor depressant effect, indicating a significant skeletal muscle relaxant and sedative effect of the plant. [10]
The anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and sedative-hypnotic actions of the BZDs make them the most important GABA A -modulating drugs. The mechanism of anxiolytic action of MAE might involve an action on GABAergic transmission; however, further studies are needed to ascertain this.
Earlier reports on the chemical constituents of plants and their pharmacology suggest that plants containing flavonoids, saponins, and tannins possess activity against many CNS disorders. [11] Photochemical tests of MAE revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, and saponins. It is possible that the mechanism of anxiolytic action of MAE could be due to the binding of any of these phytochemicals to the GABA A -BZD complex. In support of this, it has been found that flavones, which are present in M. alba , bind with high affinity to the BZD site of the GABA A receptor. [10]
The results obtained in this study suggest that the extract of the leaves of M. alba possesses anxiolytic and muscle-relaxant activities, which is possibly mediated through the GABA A -BZD mechanism. Thus, M. alba L. has potential clinical application in the management of anxiety and muscle tension disorders. Further investigation of the mechanism(s) of action of the plant extract, as well as the active substance(s) responsible for its biological actions, is necessary.
References
1. Grundman O, Nakajima J, Seo S, Butterweck V. Anti-anxiety effects of Apocynum venetum L. in the elevated plus maze test. J Ethnopharmacol 2007;110:406-11.
2. Taro Nomura. The chemistry and biosynthesis of isoprenylated flavonoids from moraceous plants. Pure Appl Chem 1999;71:1115-8.
3. Oh H, Ko EK, Jun JY, Oh MH, Park SU, Kang KH, et al . Hepatoprotective and radical scavenging activities of preflavonoids, Coumarin and stilbene from Morus alba . Planta Med 2002;68:932-34.
5. Enkhmaa B, Shiwaku K, Katsube T, Kitajima K, Anuurad E, Yamasaki M, et al . Mulberry ( Morus alba L.) leaves and Their major flavonal Quercetin 3-(6-malonylglucaside) attenuate Atherosclerotic Lesion development in LDL receptor-deficient mice. J Nutr 2005;135:729-34.
6. Kang TH, Oh HR, Jung SM, Ryu JH, Park MW, Park YK, et al . Enhancement of Neuroprotection of Mulberry leaves ( Morus alba L.) prepared by the Anaerobic treatment against ischemic damage. Biol Pharm Bull 2006;29:270-4.
7. Abdel NB, Hesham A, Makiko Y, Taro N, Toshio F. Hypoglycemic effect of Egyptian Morus alba root bark extract: Effect on diabetes and lipid peroxidation of streptozotocin -induced diabetic rats. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;100:333-8.
8. Kusano G, Orihara S, Tsukamato D, Shibano M, Coskun M, Guvenc A, et al . Five new nortropane alkaloids and six new amino acids from the fruit of Morus albaL. growing in Turkey. Chem Pharm Bull 2002;50:185-92.
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12. Jain NN, Ohal CC, Shroff RH, Somani RS, Kasture VS, Kasture SB. Clitoria ternatea and the CNS. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2003;75:529-36.
13. Kulkarni SK. Hand book of experimental pharmacology. Delhi: Vallabh Prakashan; 1999. p. 117-9.
14. Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JN. Pharmacology: Churchill Livingstone; 2003.p. 483-94.
15. Dhonnchadha BA, Bourin M, Hascoet M. Anxiolytic- like effects of 5-HT 2 ligands on three mouse models of anxiety. Behav Brain Res 2003;140:203-14.
16. Thakur VD, Mengi SA. Neuropharmacological profile of Eclipta Alba L. Hassk . J Ethnopharmacol 2005;102;23-31.
17. Hellion-Ibarrola MC, Ibarrola DA, Montalbetti Y, Kennedy ML, Heinichen O, Campuzano M, et al . The anxiolytic-like effects of Aloysia polystachya (Griseb) Moldenke (Verbenaceae) in mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2006;105:400-8.