Morus alba Enhanced Functional Recovery After Sciatic Nerve Crush Injury

Problem statement: Traumatic nerve injury has been recognized as one of the problems commonly found in road traffic crashes. Therefore, searching for the effective substances for promoting the functional recovery of nerve after injury is in required. Accumulating lines of evidence show that free radicals generated after injury contribute the important role to retard functional recovery, thus the substance possessing anti-oxidant could facilitate functional recovery. Based on the effect of antioxidant to promote functional recovery of nerve after injury mentioned earlier, we hypothesized that Morus alba extract, a substance possessing anti-oxidant activity, should be able to facilitate the functional recovery of peripheral nerve after injury. Approach: To elucidate this issue, male Wistar rats, weighing 180-220 g, were orally given the aqueous extract of Morus alba at various doses ranging from 0.1, 1 and 10 mg kg^-1 BW 5days before and 21 days after sciatic nerve injury. Motor, sensory and sensorimotor coordination were observed every 3 days for 3 weeks by using De Medinacelli method, foot reflex withdrawal test and rotarod test, respectively. Results: The low dose of the extract significantly improved both sensory and motor functions after crush injury. Although sensory function recovers more sooner than the motor function, it fails to show full recovery within weeks. Thus, the present study demonstrates the potential of M. alba extract to enhance functional recovery after crush injury. Conclusion: In conclusion, Morus alba may serve as functional food to promote nerve recovery after injury. However, further studies about the possible active ingredient (s) and underlying mechanism (s) are required.