## 4 Discussion  
In this work, frosted mulberry leaves were ground into a fine powder using a planetary ball mill. Additionally, the interventional therapeutic effects of FMLSP on T2 DM mice were  
Figure 6: Effect of FMLSP on gut microbial composition of T2 DM mice. (**A**) Abundance in genus level; (**B**) six bacterial species at the genus level; and (**C,D**) linear discriminative analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analyses. (*) \(p<0.05\) and (**), \(p<0.01\) vs. T2 DM group. Figure 7: Spearman correlation analysis of gut bacterial communities and the diabetes indices. *\(p<0.05\), **\(p<0.01\), ***\(p<0.001\). examined, along with the physicochemical and functional characteristics of the compound. The particle size of FMLSP was determined to be 8.52 \(\upmu\)m, which meets the requirement of ultrafine powder. SEM results showed that the ultrafine crushed frosted mulberry leaf had better dispersion. The reduction in particle size led to agglomeration, but a higher degree of fragmentation was seen, which contributed to the release of bioactive components and bioavailability. Determination of the chemical content in FMLSP revealed a high flavonoid content of 91.30 mg/g, which was slightly higher than the levels of common mulberry leaves given in other reports [5,44]. Meanwhile, in vitro antioxidant experiments revealed that FMLSP had a good scavenging effect on DPPH as well as ABTS free radicals, which was close to the antioxidant effect of VC. This indicates that FMLSP has potential functional food properties. As catalysts in the process of digestion, \(\alpha\)-glucosidase and \(\alpha\)-amylase exhibit the ability to decompose carbohydrates into glucose that can be absorbed [32]. Inhibitors of \(\alpha\)-amylase and \(\alpha\)-glucosidase, which directly affect blood glucose levels through stepwise digestion of carbohydrates, have great value in the management of diabetes. In the current investigation, FMLSP was found to be effective in inhibiting the activities of \(\alpha\)-glucosidase and \(\alpha\)-amylase. This may be attributed to the main active ingredient in frosted mulberry leaves, 1-DNJ, which has the strong inhibitory activity of \(\alpha\)-glucosidase and has been well-documented to have an antidiabetic effect [45]. T2 DM is a metabolic disease characterized by chronic abnormally elevated blood glucose, and effective regulation of glucose homeostasis has become its core therapeutic goal [46]. Typical symptoms in T2 DM mice are polyphagia, weight loss, and elevated blood glucose, which is consistent with the findings of [PERSON] et al. [47]. FMLSP improved symptoms of hyperphagia and weight loss in mice in this study while significantly reducing blood glucose in T2 DM. The OGTT test is commonly used in clinics to rapidly diagnose diabetic conditions [48]. The results indicated that the high dose of FMLSP significantly improved glucose tolerance in diabetic mice. The reason may be that FMLSPs are rich in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber in the body can significantly increase the viscosity of the contents of the small intestine, forming a mesh structure that prevents the digestive juices from making full contact with the food. It reduces the rate of gastric emptying, delays the diffusion of glucose, and slows down the absorption of glucose in the intestines, thereby decreasing blood glucose levels [49, 50, 51]. Glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism are interrelated in the body, and glucose abnormalities in diabetic patients often cause abnormalities in lipid metabolism [52]. In this study, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels were elevated, HDL-C levels were decreased in T2 DM mice, and FMLSP intervention significantly improved lipid metabolism disorders and reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease in T2 DM mice. Meanwhile, the study found that FMLSP had an excellent effect on the removal of LDL-C in T2 DM mice. This may be attributed to the high flavonoid content in FMLSP.