The
Noni (Morinda Citrifolia) plant grows well on sandy or
rocky shores. Apart from saline conditions, the plant also can withstand drought
and grows in secondary soils. Thus the plant can be seen in clearings, volcanic
terrain, lava-strewn coasts and on limestone outcrops. Noni is a small
evergreen tree which bears a fleshy yellow fruit.
Uses as food: The Noni fruit is edible, but
does not have
a nice taste or smell.
Nevertheless, Noni
has been eaten
during famine and in some Pacific islands is even a staple food of choice
(Raratonga, Samoa, Fiji), where the Noni fruit were eaten raw or cooked.
These days people use Noni primarily in Juice form. The
Noni Juice
is mixed with other fruit juices to make the taste and smell more
palatable. Current research indicates that the Tahitian Noni
fruit to be the more nutrient rich than other Noni fruit grown elsewhere.
Noni Characteristics
Main features: Grows 5-9 m tall.
Leaves: Large, simple, dark green, shiny, deeply veined.
Flowers: Small, white, growing from a fleshy
structure. Blooms and fruits year round.
Fruits: Oval, medium 4-7cm, at first green, turning
light yellow or white when ripe. Has many seeds.
Juice: Dark brown in color.
World
distribution: Native to Southeast Asia but spread to India, the
Pacific Islands and even South America.
Classification: Family
Combretaceae.
Noni
Noni juice contains nutritional enzymes, anthraquinones and
polysaccharides, all known to have various health benefits. Noni is
the common Polynesian name for morinda citrifolia also Known as Indian
Mulberry. The plant indigenous to India, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia, is a
Noni of evergreen ranging in size from a small bush to a tree
20 or 30 feet high. Approximately the size of a potato the Noni
fruit has a lumpy appearance and a waxy, semi-translucent skin that ranges in
color as it ripens from green to yellow to almost white. Native Tahitians
recognize it sight unseen because of the fruit's rancid smell when fully ripe.
This smell decreases some as the fruit is fermented and the juice is prepared.
The taste is also improved during this processing.
In other regions, the
Noni is eaten raw with salt (Indochina, Australian Aborigines); or cooked as a
curry. Noni may also be fed to pig livestock. The young leaves can also be
eaten as a vegetable and contain protein (4-6%). Noni seeds may be roasted and
eaten. As you can see Noni (Morinda Citrilfolia)
is used in many ways and some may even surprise you.
Today's thoughts and uses: Noni is receiving more and more attention from modern
herbalists, medical physicians, and high-tech biochemists. Scientific studies
within the last few decades lend support to the Polynesians' claims of its
unusual healing power. Some of the health-related ingredients of Noni fruit that
have been isolated are Morindone, Morindine, Acubin, Terpene compounds, L.
Asperuloside, various Anthraquinones, Alazarin, Caproic Acid, Caprylic Acid,
Scopoletin, Damnacanthal, and Alkaloids.
Alkaloids are colorless, complex, bitter organic bases, and they are
essential to maintaining healthy stasis in the body. Dr. Ralph Heinicke, a
respected biochemist formerly at the University of Hawaii, has dedicated himself
to the study of one alkaloid in particular found in Noni called
xeronine. The body produces xeronine in order to activate enzymes and to
regulate and give structure to proteins. According to Dr. Heinicke, without
xeronine life would not exist. However extracting xeronine from the human body
has been impossible to date. The body's protein molecules consume the alkaloid
immediately after it is created; and therefore, there is never an appreciable,
insoluble amount in the body.
Even though the Noni fruit has only negligible amounts of
xeronine, the juice does contain very large amounts of a precursor to the
essential alkaloid called proxeronine. Proxeronine is a colloid that, unlike
most colloids, contains neither sugars, amino acids, nor nucleic acids and
thereby has been overlooked by most biochemists. This compound initiates the
release of xeronine in the intestinal tract after it comes in contact with a
specific enzyme which is also contained in the Noni juice. This
particular chemical combination is believed to significantly affect cellular
function, which can determine a whole host of physiological reactions. The
enzymatic reactions that occur with taking Noni juice on an
empty stomach are what Dr. Heinicke believes set cellular repair into motion.
Other uses: The bark of the
Morinda (Noni) produces a reddish purple and brown dye used in making batik and
the tree was widely grown for this purpose in Java. In Marshal Islands, a yellowish dye
was also extracted from the roots and also used to dye cloth. The Noni tree was also
purposely planted to provide support for pepper vines and shade tree for coffee
bushes. The Noni tree was also used as a wind-break in Surinam.
Traditional medicinal uses: Various parts of the Noni plant are used to contain fever and as a
tonic (Chinese, Japan, Polynesia); leaves, flowers, fruit, bark to treat eye
problems, skin wounds and abscesses, gum and throat problems, respiratory
ailments, constipation, fever (Pacific Islands, Polynesia); to treat stomach pains
and after child birth (Marshall Islands). Heated leaves applied to the chest relieve coughs,
nausea, colic (Malaysia); juice of the leaves is taken for arthritis
(Philippines). The Noni fruit is taken for lumbago,
asthma and dysentery (Indochina); pounded unripe fruit is mixed with salt and
applied to cuts and broken bones; ripe fruit is used to draw out pus from an
infected boil (Tahiti & Polynesia); juices of over-ripe fruits are taken to regulate
menstrual flow, ease urinary problems (Malay); fruits are used to make a shampoo
(Malay, Tahitian, Polynesian) and to treat head lice (Tahiti & Polynesia). Other exotic diseases treated
with the plant include diabetes and venereal diseases.
Role in the habitat: Like other mangrove and shore
plants, the Morinda (Noni) helps to stabilize the shore and provide shade under
which other less hardy plants can establish themselves. Their fruits appear to
attract the Weaver Ants (Oecophylla
smaragdina), which also often make their remarkable nests out of the living
leaves of the plant. In residence, these ants may protect the plant from insect
predators.
Quality: Scientific testing has shown that
the Tahitian Noni fruit
juice has the strongest health benefit.
Important Notice: Only your doctor can properly
diagnose and treat any disease or disorder.
Before starting the use of any nutritional supplement, it is important
to consult with your doctor. The statements on this web site have
not been evaluated by the U.S. Food Drug Administration. These products
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Information on the site is educational information only and does
not warrant, imply or guarantee any result or cure.
The
Noni juice contains nutritional enzymes, anthraquinones and
polysaccharides, all known to have various health benefits. Noni is
the common Polynesian name for morinda citrifolia also Known as Indian
Mulberry. The plant indigenous to India, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia, is a
Noni of evergreen ranging in size from a small bush to a tree
20 or 30 feet high. Approximately the size of a potato the Noni
fruit has a lumpy appearance and a waxy, semi-translucent skin that ranges in
color as it ripens from green to yellow to almost white. Native Tahitians
recognize it sight unseen because of the fruit's rancid smell when fully ripe.
This smell decreases some as the fruit is fermented and the juice is prepared.
The taste is also improved during this processing.
Even though the Noni fruit has only negligible amounts of
xeronine, the juice does contain very large amounts of a precursor to the
essential alkaloid called proxeronine. Proxeronine is a colloid that, unlike
most colloids, contains neither sugars, amino acids, nor nucleic acids and
thereby has been overlooked by most biochemists. This compound initiates the
release of xeronine in the intestinal tract after it comes in contact with a
specific enzyme which is also contained in the Noni juice. This
particular chemical combination is believed to significantly affect cellular
function, which can determine a whole host of physiological reactions. The
enzymatic reactions that occur with taking Noni juice on an
empty stomach are what Dr. Heinicke believes set cellular repair into motion.
