A Study on the Clinical Application and Dosage of Mulberry Leaf for the Treatment of Dryness Syndromes

¹ Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia, China

² School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia, China

³ Key Laboratory of Metabolic Cardiovascular Diseases, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia, China

⁴ College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, Henan, China

AMCMR 2026 , 2(3), 50–60; https://doi.org/10.61369/AMCMR.2026S1006

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Commonly Used Traditional Chinese Medicines for Treating Dryness in Clinical Practice)

© 2026 by the Author. Licensee Art and Technology, USA. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )

Abstract

This study summarizes the clinical experience recorded in classical formulas, the practice of renowned senior traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians, the views of experts from the Committee for Research on the Dose–Effect Relationship of Chinese Materia Medica, and the experience of contemporary clinicians. Mulberry leaf is administered at 3–60 g in decoctions and 4–9 g per dose in pills or powders. The optimal dosage varies according to the disease, syndrome pattern, and presenting symptoms. For clearing lung heat, moistening dryness, and dispersing wind-heat in exogenous warm-dryness, dry cough due to lung heat, or wind-heat invading the lung, the usual decoction dose is 3–15 g; it may be increased to 30 g when dryness-heat has severely depleted body fluids, whereas the usual dose in pills or powders is 4–9 g. For cooling the blood, nourishing yin, clearing heat, and arresting sweating in night sweats or abnormal uterine bleeding, 20–30 g is commonly used in decoctions, or 9 g as a single-herb powder. For clearing heat and reducing blood glucose in wasting-thirst associated with dryness-heat, the usual decoction dose is 15–60 g. For nourishing yin and moistening dryness in acne, seborrheic alopecia, or constipation due to fluid depletion, 10–15 g is commonly used in decoctions and approximately 4 g per dose in pills or powders. Compatible herbs should likewise be selected according to the disease, syndrome pattern, and symptoms. Mulberry leaf may be combined with apricot kernel, Glehnia root, Ophiopogon root, gypsum, and loquat leaf to clear the lung and moisten dryness; with Astragalus root, Chinese angelica, Cornus fruit, or Danggui Liuhuang Tang to cool the blood, nourish yin, clear heat, and arrest sweating; with Coptis rhizome, Anemarrhena rhizome, mulberry twig, and white mulberry root-bark to clear heat and reduce blood glucose; and with black sesame seed, capillary wormwood herb, Adenophora root, and Chinese angelica to nourish yin and moisten dryness.

Keywords

Mulberry leaf

Dose–effect relationship

Compatibility

Clinical application

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No.: 82560896); Special Talent Launch Project of Ningxia Medical University (Project No.: 2025016); Ningxia Medical University Leading Project (Project No.: XJKF250418); Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Ningxia Medical University (Project No.: NYCXCY014); Key Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in Henan Province (Project No.: 2025ZY1035)

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