Mulberry latex contains extremely high concentrations of alkaloidal sugar mimic glycosidase inhibitors, such as 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol (D-AB1) and 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ). Although these compounds do not harm the silkworm, Bombyx mori, a mulberry specialist, they are highly toxic to
Disaccharidases of oral bacteria, especially alpha-glucosidase and beta-fructofuranosidase, are considered to play an important role in the induction of dental caries. Upon the examination of disaccharidases from several strains of saccharolytic oral bacteria, we found all of those bacteria to be