Effects of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf ingestion on gene expression of peripheral whole blood [CvsQ]

In the animal study, both a decrease of serum alanine aminotransferase level and whole blood gene expression changes were observed in rats fed a MLP-containing high-fat diet compared with rats fed a high-fat diet. Male Wistar rats (7 weeks old) were purchased from Japan SLC, Inc. (Shizuoka, Japan) and housed in a room that was maintained at 21 ± 1°C and 50 ± 10% relative humidity with a 12-h light/dark cycle (light 08:00–20:00; dark 20:00–08:00). The rats were preliminary given a normal diet (CE-2, CLEA Japan, Kanagawa, Japan) for acclimation. After a week of acclimation, the rats were divided into three groups (n=10 each) and fed for 8 weeks on a high-fat diet (Quick fat, CLEA Japan, Kanagawa, Japan), a high-fat diet plus 1% mulberry leaf powder, or a normal diet. Mulberry leaf powder was obtained from Sagamihara chamber of commerce and industry (Kanagawa, Japan). The rats were given a specific diet and water for 24 h ad libitum. On day 56 after overnight fasting, the animals were euthanized under anesthesia to collect their blood.