New directions in mulberry leaf research for diabetes: a translational approach based on multi-component synergy

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing year by year globally, but the existing drugs have limitations, and there is still a great demand for natural, complementary hypoglycemic strategies. Mulberry leaves have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for "Xiaoke." The aim of this review is to summarize the functional constituents with hypoglycemic potential in mulberry leaves, to explore their multiple mechanisms of action, to evaluate the preclinical and clinical evidence, and to discuss the prospects and challenges of their application as dietary supplements. Mulberry leaves are rich in a variety of functional constituents, which show good potential to assist in glycemic control through multi-target pathways such as inhibition of carbohydrate digestive enzymes, regulation of glucose absorption, improvement of insulin sensitivity, protection of pancreatic β-cells and anti-oxidative stress. However, more high-quality clinical studies are needed to standardize the dosage and formulation.