Mulberry Leaf Extract for Weight Loss
Mulberry leaf extract is not a proven weight-loss aid. No human trial has shown it reduces body weight or body fat, and its only plausible tie to weight is an indirect, unverified one through blunting after-meal blood sugar spikes.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
This earns a Weak (C) grade because the human evidence for weight loss is essentially absent. The available clinical trials were built around blood sugar and lipids, not body composition. A double-blind RCT of Reducose mulberry extract (PMID 28225835, n=37, industry-funded) measured only a single after-meal glucose and insulin response, with body weight used as an entry criterion rather than an outcome. A small 12-week DNJ-rich extract trial (PMID 20838571, n=10) tracked triglycerides and reported no meaningful weight change.
Nothing higher up fills the gap. A meta-analysis of Morus alba (PMID 26972284) pooled glucose and lipid markers only and did not include body weight, BMI, waist circumference, or body fat at all. The single positive weight signal comes from a mouse study (PMID 23561072), where the active compound DNJ cut visceral fat in high-fat-fed animals. That is preclinical, indirect evidence that cannot be extrapolated to people, and the proposed mechanism, slowing carbohydrate absorption via alpha-glucosidase inhibition, remains biologically plausible but clinically unproven for weight.
Health authorities do not back a weight claim. EFSA concluded a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be established and that the extract is not even sufficiently characterised; NIH/NCCIH reports only mixed blood-sugar findings and flags a real low-blood-sugar risk when combined with diabetes medications. Mayo Clinic, Harvard, the NHS, and obesity-specialty societies do not address it. Note too that some 'mulberry weight-loss' studies actually use mulberry fruit extract, not leaf, and should not be conflated. Bottom line: treat it as unproven for weight loss.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.457
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 高品質 SR/MA 顯示 positive (1 篇 > 0 negative)
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status