Abstract:
Morus alba Linn., belonging to Moraceae family, is commonly used as an herb. M. alba leaves are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and Thai traditional medicine. It used to treat colds caused by wind-heat, sore throat, cough, eye inflammation, etc. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacognostic specifications and analyze the content of chlorogenic acid in M. alba leaves. M. alba leaves were collected from 15 different sources throughout Thailand. The fresh mature leaves were used for macroscopic and microscopic evaluations. The macroscopic details were illustrated as drawings. The microscopic evaluation showed the details of the leaf constant number and the cross-section of the midrib. M. alba leaves were cleaned and dried for analysis of pharmacologic specification. The parameters included water content (7.97 ± 0.35%), water-extractive value (16.14 ± 0.50%), ethanol-extractive value (8.61 ± 0.39%), loss on drying (4.55 ± 0.21%), total ash (14.38 ± 0.25%) and acid-insoluble ash (6.21 ± 0.37%). The preliminary phytochemical examination of M. alba leaves showed the detection of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, steroids and triterpenes. The dried M. alba leaves were extracted with 95% ethanol by using Soxhlet apparatus. The quantitative analysis of chlorogenic acid content was analyzed by using RP-HPLC. A C18 column was used as a stationary phase and methanol: 0.2% phosphoric acid (45%: 55%) was used as a mobile phase. The content of chlorogenic acid of M. alba leaves was found to be 0.4159 ± 0.20 g/100g by dry weight.
