Mulberries are already known for their medicinal properties in China but according to Chinese researchers they may also be used to help relieve diabetes symptoms. They published their findings which looked at several studies in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.

"The aim of the present study was to further investigate the active polysaccharides from M. alba fruit by evaluating the anti-diabetic activities of different fractions on [diabetic] rats and elucidate the mechanism underlying these activities," the researchers said.

After the researchers treated diabetic rats with two fractions of the M. alba fruit polysaccharides(MFP50 and MFP90) fruit showed a decrease in fasting blood glucose leves by 31.9% and a 47.5% reduction respectively.

The researchers concluded that both MFP50 and MFP90 worked in helping diabetic rats and also reduced their symptoms.