Examination of original plant of Mulberry bark extract, a natural food additive, based on composition of the constituents

Abstract

Mulberry bark extract, a natural food additive, is described as a "root bark extract from Morus bombycis" (Japanese name: Yamaguwa) in the Notice (1996) relating to existing food additives used in Japan. The results of analyses by LC/U V and LC/MS suggested that the Mulberry bark extract products that were tested were actually made from the root bark of Morus alba (Japanese name: Maguwa) or its hybrid species, because the compositions of the constituents in the products are more similar to those in the extracts of the dried root bark of M. alba and hybrid species that are cultivated in Japan than to those of M. bombycis. In addition, the constituents of the food additive products were different from those of the natural medicine Mori Cortex products ('Souhakuhi' in Japanese) made from the root bark of mulberry grown in China, and which is described as being derived from M. alba in the Japanese pharmacopoeia. These results were also corroborated by Principal Component Analysis using the peak areas of LC/MS analysis as explanatory variables. After this study, it was decided that Mulberry bark extract is one of the existing food additives that should be excluded from the list this year in Japan.