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Noni (Morinda Citrifolia) |
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Noni, or Morinda Citrifolia, is a small tree or shrub approximately 3-6 meters tall that is native the Pacific islands, Asia, and Australia. Sapwood is yellow-brown and soft. The bark is gray or brown, smoothish to slightly rough. Twigs are light green and four-angled. The opposite leaves are attached by stout petioles 1 to 2 cm long. The plant blooms and fruits all year round. The flowers are small and white. The small white flowers form on a globe and each flower forms part of the whole fruit that increases in size as it matures. The ovary of the flower develops as one of the many faceted pits on the fruit. Initially green in color, the fruits ripen into a white or yellow hue and emit a pungent, unpleasant odor. The greenish-white to pale-yellow, fleshy fruits are ovoid or globose syncarps 5 to 7 cm long. It generally thrives in sandy or rocky shores but also grows in volcanic terrain and on limestone. Noni, is also known as Indian mulberry, great morinda, cheezefruit, morinda, mouse’s pineapple, yellow root, jumbie breadfruit, hog apple, pain killer, mengkudu, nono, feyukke friudem rhubarbe caraïbe, bilimbi, pomme-macaque, and pomme de singe. The botanical name for the genus was derived from the two Latin words morus, mulberry, and indicus, Indian, in reference to the similarity of the fruit of noni to that of true mulberry (Morus alba). |
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Active constituents of noni |
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| Noni has various chemical constituents such as xeronines (proxeronine & proxeroninase), scopoletin, anthraquinones (damnacanthal), polysaccharides (noni-ppt, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid), glycosides (rutin, asperulosidic acid), amino acids and essential fatty acids. The noni leaf is rich in amino acids (which include alanine, arginine, aspartic acids, cysteine, cystine, glycine, glutamic acid, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine), anthraquinones, glycosides, phenolic compounds, resins, B-sitosterol, and ursolic acid. Noni flower contains acacet in 7-0-D (+) –glucophyranoside, 5,7,-dimet hyl apigenin-4-0-8-D(+) -galact ophyranoside,6,8,-dimet hoxy-3-methyl ant hroquinone-1-0-8-rhamnosyl glucophyranoside. Its fruit has, antioxidant, alizarin, anthraquinones, damnacanthal, caproic and caprylic acids. The root and root bark consist of carbonate, chlorubin, rubicholric acid, soranjidol, chrysophanol, phosphate, magnesium, ferric iron, sodium, glycosides, morinadadiol, morindine, resins, rubiadin, and sterols. |
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Medicinal uses and health benefits of noni |
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| Noni has been used in folk medicine for a long histrory, and is reported to have a broad range of therapeutic effects, including
antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, antihelmin, analgesic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, and immune enhancing effects. The root was used traditionally to reduce fever and congestion internally. The root compounds have a natural sedative quality. When applied topically, it is used to treat joint swelling and gout. The plant's leaves, for instance, are wrapped around arthritic joints, applied to the forehead to ease a headache, or brewed into tea to sip as a tonic. Ripe fruit is mashed into a poultice and then applied to blemishes and boils to draw out pus. The juice of the noni fruit is worked in to the hair and scalp as a shampoo to kill head lice. Ripe fruit has been used to treat facial acne, sores and staph infection. Dried and powdered forms of the bark mixed with water and administered with a spoon treated infant diarrhea. The fruit and leaves of the shrub exert antibacterial activities. Its roots promote the expulsion of mucus and the shrinkage of swollen membranes making it an ideal therapeutic for nasal congestion, lung infections, and hemorrhoids. Leaf extracts are able to inhibit excessive blood flow or to inhibit the format ion of blood clots. Chewing leaves used to help sooth sore throats. The juice of the leaves can internally help gout, gingivitis, and sties. Flower extracts may be administered for eye complaints. Eye washes can be made from decoctions for eye complaints from flower extracts. Many people drink noni fruit extracts in juice form for hypertension, painful menstruat ion, arthritis, gastric ulcers, diabetes, and depression. The stem bark and green leaves are crushed and strained to produce a liquid that is drunk to treat urinary tract problems and as a general tonic. |
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Noni dosage and administration |
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| Commercial noni products are available as juice, tablets and capsules, but noni juice or a juice concentrate are widely available and heavily promoted. The usual recommendation is 4 ounces (120 ml) of noni juice 30 minutes before breakfast. For liquid concentrates, the typical recommendation is 2 tablespoons daily, and for powdered extracts, 500 to 1,000 mg daily. |
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Side effects, precautions, interactions |
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No major side effects have been associated with using noni. Noni fruit juice contains high sugar content and should be used with caution in diabetic patients and others who need to limit their glucose and caloric intake. People with kidney problems should not take noni because noni juice contains considerable amounts of potassium. Due to the lack of evidence, use of noni by pregnant or nursing women is not recommended. |
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