On August 24, 2022, Kaiser Health News (KHN) reported on the passing of a 61-year old California woman who died from dehydration in December of 2021 (Young 2022a).
According to KHN, the death was caused by severe stomach inflammation from consuming an “herbal remedy” or “dietary supplement” containing white mulberry leaf (Morus alba). The article was based on a Certificate of Death and Coroner’s Report issued by the Sacramento County Coroner’s office alleging that the cause of death was “dehydration due to gastroenteritis due to adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion.” An autopsy was performed and a partial fragment of a leaf was found in the stomach of the victim (Fearne and Tovar 2021; Rogers et al. 2022). The leaf was subsequently putatively identified as white mulberry (Morus alba L.) (Colwell et al. 2021), a common Chinese herb primarily used for supporting healthy respiration and relieving coughs. Additionally, based on traditional use and modern controlled clinical studies various white mulberry leaf preparations have been found beneficial for supporting healthy blood sugar levels and healthy weight management (Gheldof et al. 2022; Liu et al. 2016; Lown et al. 2017; Jeong et al. 2022, among others). The decedent reportedly was dieting.
No information was provided in the article or coroner’s report as to how the cause of death was attributed to the leaf fragment and there was no indication that any dietary supplement product was ingested. A follow-up article by the same writer Samantha Young released three weeks after the original, similarly raised questions regarding how mulberry leaf was considered causative and cited numerous experts, including in pathology, who generally acknowledged that mulberry leaf is considered non-toxic (Young 2022b).