Noni Juice: Is it a Cure All or Just a Healthy Drink?
Over the last decade, a growing number of people have become interested in the medicinal uses of noni juice, made from the fruit of the Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia) of the South Pacific Islands of Tahiti, and more recently from Hawaii. Noni has been used in folk remedies by Polynesians for over 2000 years, 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. But does modern noni research support these claims?
Noni Chemistry
Noni has been documented to contain a mixture of anthraquinones, organic acids, xeronine, several vitamins (such as beta-carotene, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine), some minerals, iron and calcium. The potassium content of noni is similar to that in tomato juice and orange juice.
Noni
Noni grows extensively throughout the South Pacific, and was at one time the most widely used medicinal plant in the region. This evergreen shrub grows especially well in the rich volcanic ash of Hawaii. Some of the beneficial constituents of Noni include various terpene compounds, caproic and caprylic acids, vitamin C and alkaloids. However, Noni is most famous for the presence of an alkaloid proxeronine, which is believed to be a precursor to xeronine.
Noni Reported Uses - Benefit of Noni Juice
What is the benefit of noni juice or noni products, anyway? Claims have been made that noni fruit juice or noni extract improves the immune system, ultimately healing dozens of conditions ranging from addictions to varicose veins and yeast rash. What does the scientific research say about the benefit of noni juice and noni extract supplement?
Noni and Cholesterol
Reductions in total cholesterol and triglycerides have been seen in smokers who drank a product containing juice from the fruit of the noni tree every day for a month. Researcher Mian-Ying Wang, MD, says she first became interested in studying noni juice in 1999 after becoming convinced that it helped reduce her pain from a wrist fracture.
Infections: Infections are the most common applications of noni. The extract from the leaves of noni (not the fruit that renders noni juice) displayed a moderate suppression of Ascaris lumbricoides (intestinal nematodes) growth in the test tube. However, noni juice has not been shown to improve infections once symptoms have manifested, although there are anecdotal reports of patients feeling better from mild infections after using noni. Decoctions of the leaves or roots of related mulberry species may have some suppressive effect on parasitic infections.
Noni and Pain: Pain, painful inflammation and swellings are the second most common usage of noni. Studies in mice have demonstrated that extracts from the root of noni (again, not rendered from the fruit) have some pain relieving and sedative activity.
Noni and Diabetes: In Java, noni has been part of the treatment for diabetes. Most of the folk uses for diabetes involve chewing the leaves or a combination of the plant and leaves. Chewing mulberry leaves releases and activates large amounts of mucilage or insoluble dietary fiber. The fiber may slow the absorption of simple sugars from the gut. The effect in most patients would be a slight reduction in the peak glucose level following a meal.
Noni and Cancer: Noni fruit juice contains a polysaccharide-rich substance called noni-ppt with anti-tumor activity. In a study performed at the University of Hawaii, administration of noni-ppt significantly enhanced the duration of survival of mice with lung tumor. The researchers say, "This suggests possible clinical applications of noni-ppt as a supplemental agent in cancer treatment."
Side Effects of Noni and Noni Juice
In some regions of the world noni and other mulberry species are used as a laxative. Predictably, some patients using higher concentrations of noni juice may experience some diarrhea. Although the risk of long-term adverse reactions is not currently known, it should be very low, because of the long history of mulberry species as a food in wide geographic regions. Patients with diabetes would be wise to find out the amount of sugars used to sweeten the particular product they wish to use. Noni Product Availability
The noni fruit is available as noni juice and noni extract capsules.
Noni Dosage
Suggested noni dose is one or two capsules per day, taken with a few ounces of water. Three capsules are equivalent to about two tablespoons of liquid noni juice. A concentrated form of the juice is also available. Noni is often mixed with other fruit juices because of its unpleasant taste
Angiogenesis. 2003;6(2):143-9.
Noni, the juice of the fruit from the Morinda citrifolia plant, has been used for centuries as a medicinal agent. We tested the effects of noni juice in a three-dimensional fibrin clot matrix model using human placental vein and human breast tumor explants as sources for angiogenic vessel development. Noni in concentrations of 5% (vol/vol) or greater was highly effective in inhibiting the initiation of new vessel sprouts from placental vein explants, compared with initiation in control explants in media supplemented with an equivalent amount of saline. These concentrations of noni were also effective in reducing the growth rate and proliferation of newly developing capillary sprouts. When used at a concentration of 10% in growth media, noni was able to induce vessel degeneration and apoptosis in wells with established capillary networks within a few days of its application. We also found that 10% noni juice in media was an effective inhibitor of capillary initiation in explants from human breast tumors. In tumor explants which did show capillary sprouting, the vessels rapidly degenerated (2-3 days) in those exposed to media supplemented with 10% noni.
Antitumor potential of a polysaccharide-rich substance from the fruit juice of Morinda citrifolia ( Noni plant ) on sarcoma 180 ascites tumor in mice.
Phytother Res. 2003 Dec;17(10):1158-64.
An immunomodulatory polysaccharide-rich substance ( Noni -ppt) from the fruit juice of Morinda citrifolia has been found to possess both prophylactic and therapeutic potentials against the immunomodulator sensitive Sarcoma 180 tumor system. The antitumor activity of Noni -ppt produced a cure rate of 25%-45% in allogeneic mice and its activity was completely abolished by the concomitant administration of specific inhibitors of macrophages (2-chloroadenosine), T cells (cyclosporine) or natural killer (NK) cells (anti-asialo GM1 antibody). Noni -ppt showed synergistic or additive beneficial effects when combined with a broad spectrum of chemotherapeutic drugs, including cisplatin, adriamycin, mitomycin-C, bleomycin, etoposide, 5- fl uorouracil, vincristine or camptothecin. It was not beneficial when combined with paclitaxel, cytosine arabinoside, or immunosuppressive anticancer drugs such as cyclophosphamide, methotrexate or 6-thioguanine. Noni -ppt also demonstrated beneficial effects when combined with the Th1 cytokine, interferon gamma, but its activity was abolished when combined with Th2 cytokines, interleukin-4 or interleukin-10, thereby suggesting that Noni -ppt induces a Th1 dominant immune status in vivo.
From Polynesian healers to health food stores: changing perspectives of Morinda citrifolia (noni).
Integr Cancer Ther. 2002 Jun;1(2):110-20; discussion 120.
Morinda citrifolia L (noni) is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. Remedies from isolated Polynesian cultures, such as that of Rotuma, illustrate traditional indications that focus upon leaves, roots, bark, and green fruit, primarily for topical ailments. Anecdotally collected Hawaiian remedies that employ noni fruit illustrate changing usage patterns with shifts in recent times to preparation of juice made of ripe or decaying fruit. Ralph M. Heinicke promoted a wide range of claims about noni, and these seem to have fueled much of the current commercial interest in the plant. Recent studies of the proliferation of commercial products have shown that noni product manufacturers are promoting a range of therapeutic claims. These claims are based upon traditional Polynesian uses, Heinicke's ideas, and fragments of recent scientific studies including the activity of noni in the treatment of cancer. A review is provided of recent studies of potential anticancer activity of noni fruit. While Noni’s anticancer potential is still being explored, it continues to be widely used by Polynesians and non-Polynesians alike for both traditional and newly hypothesized indications.
From Polynesian healers to health food stores: changing perspectives of noni plant - Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae).
Integr Cancer Ther. 2002 Jun;1(2):110-20; discussion 120.
Noni is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. Remedies from isolated Polynesian cultures, such as that of Rotuma, illustrate traditional indications that focus upon leaves, roots, bark, and green fruit, primarily for topical ailments. Anecdotally collected Hawaiian remedies that employ noni fruit illustrate changing usage patterns with shifts in recent times to preparation of juice made of ripe or decaying fruit. Ralph M. Heinicke promoted a wide range of claims about noni, and these seem to have fueled much of the current commercial interest in the plant. Recent studies of the proliferation of commercial products have shown that noni product manufacturers are promoting a range of therapeutic claims. These claims are based upon traditional Polynesian uses, Heinicke's ideas, and fragments of recent scientific studies including the activity of noni in the treatment of cancer. A review is provided of recent studies of potential anticancer activity of noni fruit. While Noni’s anticancer potential is still being explored, it continues to be widely used by Polynesians and non-Polynesians alike for both traditional and newly hypothesized indications.
Noni plant emails
Q. Is cancer prevention a benefit of morinda noni juice or noni powder?
A. This is impossible to say. No long-term human trials are available to tell us whether a benefit of morinda or noni is cancer prevention or treatment.
Q. Is the noni juice health benefit similar to noni supplement ?
A. Probably not since noni juice is sometimes mixed with other juices, but if it were pure noni juice, then the health benefit would be similar to the noni powder sold as a noni capsule supplement.
Q. Is morinda noni drink different that noni juice ?
A. There are dozens of companies, national and international, that make various noni products. Each company's noni product, whether noni juice or noni drink, is likely to be slightly or moderately different in terms of composition. Whether for practical purposes this makes any differences as far as the health benefit of noni product, this is difficult to say.
Conclusion
Everybody has his or her own opinion about noni, and we stand by our noni information on this web page.
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