Noni

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For other uses, see Noni (disambiguation).
Great morinda, Noni
Leaves, and fruit of Morinda citrifolia
Leaves, and fruit of Morinda citrifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Morinda
Species: M. citrifolia
Binomial name
Morinda citrifolia
L.
Noni, Morinda citrifolia

Morinda citrifolia, commonly known as great morinda, Indian mulberry, Mengkudu (Malaysia), beach mulberry, Tahitian noni, cheese fruit[1] or noni (from Hawaiian) is a tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Morinda citrifolia is native to Southeast Asia but has been extensively spread throughout the Indian subcontinent, Pacific islands, French Polynesia,Puerto Rico and recently the Dominican Republic. Tahiti remains the most prominent growing location.

Contents

[edit] Growing habitats

Noni Flower

Noni grows in shady forests as well as on open rocky or sandy shores. It reaches maturity in about 18 months and then yields between 4–8 kilograms (8.8–18 lb) of fruit every month throughout the year. It is tolerant of saline soils, drought conditions, and secondary soils. It is therefore found in a wide variety of habitats: volcanic terrains, lava-strewn coasts, and clearings or limestone outcrops. It can grow up to 9 metres (30 ft) tall, and has large, simple, dark green, shiny and deeply veined leaves.

The plant flowers and fruits all year round and produces a small white flower. The fruit is a multiple fruit that has a pungent odor when ripening, and is hence also known as cheese fruit or even vomit fruit. It is oval and reaches 4–7 centimetres (1.6–2.8 in) in size. At first green, the fruit turns yellow then almost white as it ripens. It contains many seeds. It is sometimes called starvation fruit. Despite its strong smell and bitter taste, the fruit is nevertheless eaten as a famine food[2] and, in some Pacific islands, even a staple food, either raw or cooked.[3] Southeast Asians and Australian Aborigines consume the fruit raw with salt or cook it with curry. The seeds are edible when roasted.

The noni is especially attractive to weaver ants, which make nests out of the leaves of the tree. These ants protect the plant from some plant-parasitic insects. The smell of the fruit also attracts fruit bats, which aid in dispersing the seeds.

[edit] Nutrients

Noni fruit in Honolulu

Nutritional information for noni fruit is reported by the College of Tropical Agriculture, University of Hawaii at Mānoa who published analyses of fruit powder and pure juice.

[edit] Macronutrients

Analyzed as a whole fruit powder,[4] noni fruit has excellent levels of carbohydrates and dietary fiber, providing 55% and 100% of the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI), respectively, in a 100 g serving. A good source of protein (12% DRI), noni pulp is low in total fats (4% DRI).

These macronutrients evidently reside in the fruit pulp, as noni juice has sparse amounts of macronutrients.[5]

[edit] Micronutrients

The main micronutrient features of noni pulp powder include exceptional vitamin C content (10x DRI) and substantial amounts of niacin (vitamin B3), iron and potassium.[6] Vitamin A, calcium and sodium are present in moderate amounts.

When noni juice alone is analyzed and compared to pulp powder, only vitamin C is retained at a high level, 42% of DRI.[6]

Nutrient analyses for a major brand of noni blend juice were published in 2002 by the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission on Health and Consumer Protection[7] during a test for public safety of noni juice. The major brand's ingredients include noni purée and juice concentrates from grapes and blueberries.

Excepting vitamin C content at 31% of DRI in each 100g, the juice had limited nutritional content. 100g of juice provides 8% of the DRI for carbohydrates, only traces of other macronutrients and low or trace levels of 10 essential vitamins, 7 essential dietary minerals and 18 amino acids.[6]

Although the most significant nutrient feature of noni pulp powder or juice is its high vitamin C content, this level in the noni juice blend provides only about half the vitamin C of a raw navel orange.[8] Sodium levels in the noni juice blend (about 3% of DRI)[6] are multiples of those in an orange. Although the potassium content appears relatively high for noni, this total is only about 3% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance and so would not be considered excessive. The noni juice blend is otherwise similar in micronutrient content to a raw orange.[8]

[edit] Phytochemicals

The history of published medical research on noni phytochemicals numbers only around a total of 110 reports which began appearing in the 1950s (searched in September 2008). Just since 2000, over 100 publications on noni have been published in medical literature, defining a relatively young research field. Noni research is at a preliminary stage, as it is mainly still in the laboratory as in vitro or basic animal experiments.

Noni fruit contains phytochemicals for which there are no established DRI values. Examples:

  • lignans - a group of phytoestrogens having biological activities shown by in vitro experiments[9][10][11]
  • oligo- and polysaccharides – long-chain sugar molecules that serve a prebiotic function as dietary fiber fermentable by colonic bacteria, yielding short chain fatty acids with numerous potential health properties not yet defined by scientific research on noni
  • flavonoids – phenolic compounds such as rutin, common in several Rubiaceae plants
  • iridoids - secondary metabolites found in many plants
  • trisaccharide fatty acid esters, "noniosides" - resulting from combination of an alcohol and an acid in noni fruit
  • free fatty acids - most prominent in noni fruit are caprylic acid and hexanoic acid, responsible for unique pungent (cheese-like) aroma of ripe noni fruit[12]
  • scopoletin – may have antibiotic activities; research is preliminary
  • catechin and epicatechin[13]
  • beta-sitosterol – a plant sterol with potential for anti-cholesterol activity not yet proven in human research
  • damnacanthal – a potentially toxic anthraquinone, putatively an inhibitor of HIV viral proteins
  • alkaloids – naturally occurring amines from plants. Some internet references mention xeronine or proxeronine as important noni constituents. However, as no reports on either of these substances exist in published medical literature, the terms are scientifically unrecognized. Further, chemical analysis of commercially processed juice did not reveal presence of any alkaloids.[14]

Although there is evidence from in vitro studies and laboratory models for bioactivity of each of the above phytochemicals, the research remains at best preliminary and too early to conclude anything about human health benefits provided by noni or its juice. Furthermore, these phytochemicals are not unique to noni, as nearly all exist in various plant foods.

Laboratory experiments demonstrated that dietary noni juice increased physical endurance in mice.[15] A pilot study in distance runners showed increased endurance capacity following daily intake of noni juice over three weeks, an effect the authors attributed to increased antioxidant status.[14]

[edit] Uses

Noni's reputation for uses in folk medicine extends over centuries. It is widely used in India and being explored by medical researchers for use in the treatment of cancer[16]. No medical applications as those discussed below have been verified by modern science primarily in the United States; where as the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) which regulates the food & pharmecuetical industry in the nation implemented its own regulation that "Only a drug can cure, prevent or treat a disease." Therefore anyone else who claims a cure otherwhise may be subject to false claims.

In China, Samoa, Japan, and Tahiti, various parts of the tree (leaves, flowers, fruits, bark, roots) serve as tonics and to contain fever, to treat eye and skin problems, gum and throat problems as well as constipation, stomach pain, or respiratory difficulties.[citation needed] In Malaysia, heated noni leaves applied to the chest are believed to relieve coughs, nausea, or colic.[citation needed]

The noni fruit is taken, in Indochina especially, for asthma, lumbago, and dysentery.[citation needed] As for external uses, unripe fruits can be pounded, then mixed with salt and applied to cut or broken bones.[citation needed] In Hawaii, ripe fruits are applied to draw out pus from an infected boil. The green fruit, leaves and the root/rhizome have traditionally been used to treat menstrual cramps and irregularities, among other symptoms, while the root has also been used to treat urinary difficulties.[16]

The bark of the great morinda produces a brownish-purplish dye for batik making; on the Indonesian island of Java, the trees are cultivated for this purpose. In Hawaii, yellowish dye is extracted from its root in order to dye cloth.[17] The fruit is used as a shampoo in Malaysia, where it is said to be helpful against head lice.[citation needed]

There have been recent applications also for the use of oil from noni seeds. [18] Noni seed oil is abundant in linoleic acid that may have useful properties when applied topically on skin, e.g., anti-inflammation, acne reduction, moisture retention.[19][20][21]

In Surinam and some other countries, the tree serves as a wind-break, as support for vines and as shade for coffee trees.

[edit] Gastronomy

In Malay cuisine the leaves of this plant are used for ulam, a type of Malay salad.[22]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Plants by Common Name - James Cook University
  2. ^ Krauss, BH (1993). Plants in Hawaiian Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 
  3. ^ Morton, JF (1992). "The Ocean-Going Noni, or Indian Mulberry (Morinda citrifolia, Rubiaceae) and Some of its "Colorful" Relatives". Economic Botony (New York) 46 (3): 241–256. 
  4. ^ University of Hawaii nutrient analysis on noni fruit powder
  5. ^ University of Hawaii nutrient analysis on noni juice
  6. ^ a b c d The Noni Website - Chemical Constituents of Noni
  7. ^ Nutrient composition of the blended Noni Juice
  8. ^ a b World's Healthiest Foods, in-depth nutrient analysis of a raw orange
  9. ^ Saleem et al. (2005). An update on bioactive plant lignans. Nat Prod Rep 22:696-716.
  10. ^ Deng S, Palu AK, West BJ, et al. (2007). Lipoxygenase Inhibitory Constituents of the Fruits of Noni (Morinda citrifolia) Collected in Tahiti. J Nat Prod 70(5):859-862.
  11. ^ Lin CF, Ni CL, Huang YL, et al. (2007). Lignans and anthraquinones from the fruits of Morinda citrifolia. Natural Product Research 21(13):1199-1204.
  12. ^ Levand O, Larson HO. Some chemical constituents of Morinda citrifolia. Planta Medica 36(2):186-187.
  13. ^ Mohd Zin Z, Abdul Hamid A, Osman A, et al. (2007). Isolation and identification of antioxidative compound from fruit of mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia L.). International Journal of Food Properties 10(2):363-373.
  14. ^ a b Palu AK, Seifulla RD, West BJ. Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) improves athlete endurance: Its mechanisms of action. Journal of Medicinal Plant Research 2(7):154-158.
  15. ^ Ma DL, West BJ, Su CX, Gao JH, Liu TZ, Liu YW. Evaluation of the ergogenic potential of noni juice. Phytotherapy Research. 2007 Nov; 21(11):1100-1101
  16. ^ a b McClatchey, Will (2002). "From Polynesian Healers to Health Food Stores: Changing Perspectives of Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae)" (PDF). Integrative Cancer Therapies 1 (2): 110–120. doi:10.1177/1534735402001002002. PMID 14664736. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/noni/Downloads/MorindaCitrifolia.pdf. 
  17. ^ Thompson, RH (1971). Naturally Occurring Anthraquinones. New York: Academic Press. 
  18. ^ West BJ, Jensen CJ, Westendorf J. A new vegetable oil from noni (Morinda citrifolia) seeds. International Journal of Food Science and Technology 43(11):1988-1992.
  19. ^ "Plant oils: Topical application and anti-inflammatory effects (croton oil test)". Dermatol. Monatsschr 179: 173. 1993. 
  20. ^ Letawe,; Letawe C, Boone M, Pierard GE (March 1998). "Digital image analysis of the effect of topically applied linoleic acid on acne microcomedones". Clinical & Experimental Dermatology 23 (2): 56–58. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2230.1998.00315.x. PMID : 9692305. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9692305&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=17&itool=pubmed_docsum. 
  21. ^ Darmstadt, G L; Darmstadt GL, Mao-Qiang M, Chi E, Saha SK, Ziboh VA, Black RE, Santosham M, Elias PM (2002). "Impact of topical oils on the skin barrier: possible implications for neonatal health in developing countries". Acta Paediatrica 91 (5): 546–554. doi:10.1080/080352502753711678. 
  22. ^ Nasi ulam recipe

[edit] Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Aal.
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